SHANGHAI plans to turn Pudong International Airport into the world's No.1 cargo transport center by 2015 as the city seeks to build itself into an international air hub.

The city government and the state civil aviation administration signed an agreement yesterday which will help expand flight routes by opening up the aviation market in a bid to boost the airport's gateway status.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said that building up the airport transport hub "is a key part constructing an international transport and shipping center."

He said that by the time Pudong airport becomes a key hub in the Asia-Pacific and around the world, the city's other airport, Hongqiao, aims to be the "most passenger oriented domestic flight hub."

The city plans to build a fourth and fifth runways at Pudong airport, bringing the total number of runways at the two airports to seven.

The two airports handled more than 74.56 million passengers last year, with cargo volume of 3.54 million tons, according to the Shanghai Airport Authority. The passenger traffic may reach up to 100 million by 2015, with cargo volume hitting 5.5 million tons, it said.

Source:shanghaidaily