TMCnet News
New Xiaoshan Airport Debuts in Chinese Mainland(SinoCast China Transportation Watch Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) HANGZHOU, December 27, SinoCast -- Newly established Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Co., Ltd. (HXIA) officially debuted in the Chinese aviation industry on December 18, 2006, a landmark attempt of Chinese airport reforms directed by regulators. Now HXIA becomes China's first civil airport opened to non- mainland investors, or that is to say foreign investors. Industry investors believe that it is an essential reform step in the industry after the nation's WTO entry. Whether that would spur a new round of foreign investments going into the industry has become a hot topic in aviation circles. In addition, it is the first successful investment case since the nation's new foreign investment act relative to the industry was in effect on August 1, 2002. Yang Yuanyuan, chief for the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the nation's aviation regulator, said that it was a far-reaching attempt about a multi-owner airport in the Chinese mainland aviation industry and there would be more and more opportunities to foreign aviation investors in the future. So far, China has grown into the second largest air transport entity, after the No. 1 United States, in the world, and its important development period will be from now to 2020. In order to lift its role in the global aviation industry, to boost partnership with foreign investors will be a reform direction of mainland-based civil airports. HXIA, which turns into a joint venture, has registered capital of CNY 5.686 billion. The venture introduces Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) to be a strategic investor for its management, and AA takes a 35% stake with an investment CNY 1.9901 billion. HXIA, responsible for the mainland parties, has a 65% stake in the venture, with an assets injection of about CNY 3.6959. Additionally, Chen Haimei acts as board chairman of the venture and Huang Weilin (transliterated), appointed by AA, as general manager. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Eastern China, is set to further the cooperation between Zhejiang Province and Hong Kong and improve economic relationships among the Yangtze River Delta, Hong Kong, and the Pearl River Delta, Lv Zhushan, governor of Zhejiang Province., believed. Since it was in service in 2000, the airport's yearly passenger and cargo growths have been close to 30%. It developed into an international airport in March 2004. Its passenger and cargo transport increases were respectively 28% and 29% in 2005, and it had a passenger throughput of 8.09 million people and a cargo throughput of 166,000 tons during the year, ranking eighth around all the Chinese civil airports and after the two Shanghai airports, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is recently scheduled to open some routes to Hong Kong, Beijing, and Guangzhou from Hangzhou. Two years later, it will provide services for flights to Europe and America. (USD 1 = CNY 7.82) Copyright 2006 Financial Times Ltd. |