China plans to spend a whopping 400 billion yuan ($59 billion) on airport construction by the end of 2010 as the government ramps up public investment to put a floor under the faltering economy, reported Reuters.
State television on Saturday quoted Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), as saying the money would be used to build 50 new airports and to upgrade or move 90 others.
A statement on CAAC's website, www.caac.gov.cn, gives an even higher total. It says the agency will invest 200 billion yuan in new and existing airports next year and 250 billion yuan in 2010.
China's spending departments have rushed out ambitious plans since the State Council, or cabinet, announced a 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan on Sunday to boost domestic demand.
The central government will finance 30 percent of the package directly and hopes to mobilize the remaining funds from local governments, banks and companies.
It aims to invest 100 billion yuan of the total by the end of this year, of which 34 billion yuan will be spent on rural infrastructure and 28 billion on railways and airports.