China opens new expanded terminal at Lhasa airport in Tibet

Beijing: China has opened a newly constructed terminal - stated to be the biggest in Tibet - at the provincial capital Lhasa, further expanding the transport infrastructure in the strategic Himalayan region and helping it emerge as a global logistics hub for South Asia, the official media here reported on Monday.

Lhasa Gonggar Airport opened its newly constructed Terminal 3 for operations on Saturday, marking a significant milestone in the remote region''s rapid infrastructure development that could significantly boost passenger and cargo transport, state-run Global Times reported.

The airport expansion project was carried out at a cost of USD 603 million, it said, adding that the



move would help the region become a global logistics hub for South Asia.

With the new terminal, the airport is expected to meet an annual handling capacity of nine million passengers and 80,000 metric tonnes of cargo, handling more than 75 per cent of the passenger flow of all airports in Tibet, the report said.

Tibet has five airports including at Nyingchi, Shigatse and Ngari located close to the Indian and Nepal borders.

The massive expansion of air, road and rail infrastructure is aimed at boosting civilian and military transportation considering Tibet is located close to Arunachal Pradesh in India, Nepal and Bhutan.