China to start work on world's highest airport in Tibet

BEIJING: China will construct the world's highest-altitude airport next year in Tibet, which will the sixth in the strategic Himalayan region.

The airport, planned at an altitude of 4,436 meters in Nagqu prefecture, will be 102 meters higher than Bamda Airport in Tibet's Qamdo prefecture, currently the world's highest, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a government work report as saying.

The airport is designed to cover an area of up to 660 acres.

The Tibetan Branch of the China Civil Aviation Administration has said the airport is expected to cost 1.8 billion yuan (USD 285 million) with a three-year construction period.

Regional aviation authorities will add more flights next year to connect major cities in Tibet and also link the plateau region with other major cities nationwide, according to the document.

The increase in flight services is expected to help Tibet's airports handle 2.2 million passengers and 15,000 tonnes of cargo in 2012, it added.

The other airports in Tibet inlcuded those at Gonggar, Lhasa, Bamda, Xigaze and Ngari.