The expansion plan for the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, according to a statement issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on its website.

Located in the capital of Guangdong province, Guangzhou Baiyun will construct a third runway and another terminal, which will involve a total investment of 14.036 billion yuan. But the company did not reveal the exact date of construction.

The airport plans to handle 40 million people by 2010. Last year, Guangzhou Baiyun handled 30,958,467 people, making it the second busiest airport in mainland China in terms of passenger traffic.

Shenyang-Fushun light rail

Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, has started the construction for the Shenyang-Fushun inter-city light rail transit project, according to Xing Kai, vice mayor of Shenyang.

Shenyang-Fushun inter-city light rail is the first of its kind in Liaoning province. It is designed with a speed of 120 km per hour and runs a length of 61.1 km in 53 minutes.

Once completed, the light rail will improve traffic between Shenyang and Fushun, another city in Liaonin province.

New Qinshan nuke reactors

Engineers are ready to install two 650,000 kW pressurized water reactors at the Qinshan nuclear power complex. The reactors will form the second phase of the country's first commercial nuclear power facility at the Qinshan complex.

Engineers have already helped establish a 335-ton steam generator over the underground workshop of the Qinshan complex on the northern coast of Hangzhou Bay in the country's eastern Zhejiang province.

The steam generator will use the heat produced in nuclear reactor core convert water into steam, which would then be used in pressurized water reactors between the primary and secondary coolant loops.

Shanghai GE tech park opens

General Electric has officially opened its technology park in Shanghai's Zhang Jiang Hi-tech Park. It is GE's most advanced office complex worldwide and the headquarters for GE China.

The park will bring together all GE business groups in Shanghai, with a total of 3,000 employees on the site.

According to the company, the the 60,000 square meter park meets GE's commitment for localization and better strengthen its efforts for sustainable development in China.

More for Shenzhen tourism

The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone will invest more than 15 billion yuan to develop major tourism projects over the next few years, Li Xiaogan, director of Shenzhen's Tourism Bureau, said.

These projects include a leisure resort area, an international conference center and a yacht club.

According to Li, Shenzhen tourism industry will focus on the high-end and green tourism development sectors over the next two years.

So far, there are seven hotels built to five-star standards under construction or in the pipeline in Shenzhen. And the number of five-star hotels is expected to reach 30 by 2010.

Meanwhile, various clubs for yachting, paragliding and diving are gradually making an impact in the city.

Blue gas gets boost

Datang Huayin Electric Power Co Ltd recently signed a framework agreement with the Erdos municipal government and the government of Yijinhuoluo on jointly investing in the Datang Huayin's Erdos blue gas demonstration project.

At least 17.4 billion yuan will be invested in blue gas technology of the coal from Erdos city, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Blue gas technology is an advanced coal-to-natural gas process used by Datang Huayin to produce synthetic natural gas with annual output volume of 1.8 billion cubic meters.

The first phase will start construction in 2009 and will begin operation in 2011. In addition, Datang Huayin will obtain coal resources that will enable it to establish a large coal mine in Erdos.

(China Daily 09/01/2008 page10)