As part of the effort, the second-phase construction of the international airport is expected to begin very soon, and the runway portion of the second phase will be completed in 2004.

The airport terminal to be built during the second-phase project, at a cost of 10 billion yuan (US$ 1.2 billion) is expected to go into operation in 2007.

To cope with the demand to be brought by the 2010 World Expo, athird runway will be added to Pudong airport shortly, said Wang Guangdi, director of the Operation Control Center of the Shanghai Airport (Group) Co., Ltd. on Wednesday

Statistics show the airport handled some 4.2 million passengers in the first three months this year, a rise of 163.2 percent on a yearly basis, and more than 306,700 tons of cargo, a year-on-year rise of 175.81 percent.

Pudong International Airport went into operation in October of 1999. At present, it operates 124 domestic and international air routes.

The airport's expansion stems largely from the robust economic growth in the country's eastern region, which makes up 8.3 percent of China's total land space and 28 percent of China's total population.

In 2002, the eastern China region produced 4.497 trillion yuan (US$ 543.7 billion) in GDP, or 43.9 percent of China's total for the same year.

The eastern China region now boasts 34 civil airports, or 23.8 percent of the country's total, and seven airline companies, which possess more than 150 planes, or 25 percent of China's total.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2003)