Hunan province to build 21 more airports before 2030

A document issued by the Hunan provincial National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has attracted wide attention. The document on general planning in aviation industry development states that the province will build 21 new airports between 2012 to 2030.

According to the local report, a general aviation airport is different from an ordinary civil aviation airport. General aviation is usually used for particular industries, for example medical assistance, education, agriculture and fishing. Up to the end of 2011, China has had 286 non-commercial airports and 1154 planes.

Now there are only 4 airports in Hunan province, 21 short for the goal of 25 by 2030.
The State Council issued a recommendation in July for the promotion of civil aviation development. Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China said that the development of the civil aviation industry should be ahead of economic development. "We have less than 300 airports that are actively functioning, our airport construction is far behind," Li said.
According to the state council, China will reach the annual target of 2 million flying hours by 2020; averaging an annual growth rate of 19 percent.

Shen Zhengyuan, a consultant for China Investment Corp. said that local governments are encouraged by the state policy to focus on general aviation development.

China now has only 1/480 of America's non-commercial airplanes, and 1/6 of Brazil's. The state has just approved airport construction in Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Shanxi province on October 12.