Xia Xinghua, director of the East China Civil Aviation Administration, said the regional air traffic control center will be built on a 200,000-square meter lot at a cost of 672 million yuan (81 million US dollars).

Once it begins operation in 2004, the center will be able to receive signals from 24 radars simultaneously and ensure more effective control of the security of high-altitude flights.

In addition, the airport's handling capacity will be increased from its present 1,500 flights to 3,500, and the flight interval will be narrowed from 10 minutes to one.

For planes flying at the same altitude, their "safe distance" will be drastically reduced from the present 150 kilometers to only 20.

To date, a total of 2.1 billion yuan (253 million US dollars) has been pumped into the construction of three regional air traffic control centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Upon completion, together, they will cover about 70 percent of China's airspace. Enditem

(Xinhua News Agency Novemebr 22, 2002)