Taiwan and Xiamen Join Hands to Fund Int'l AirportConstruction of the Xiamen International Airport freight depot, funded by the airport and a Taiwan company, started Thursday and was hailed as the cornerstone of cross-Straits cooperation in the aviation sector.The 224.5 million-yuan (27 million-U.S. dollars) project is the first of its kind to be invested in by a Taiwan aviation company on the mainland. The depot is planned to cover an area of 39,000 square meters including an operation district, office buildings and customs supervision warehouses. The joint venture is expected to handle 150,000 tons of cargo annually. Statistics show that the throughput of the Xiamen International Airport scores an annual increase rate of 15 percent. The figure in 2000 was 100,000 tons. A large modern depot will be urgently needed when more giant transnational companies such as Dell and Kodak settle in the city. Insiders say that the cooperation will lend Xiamen the experience and networking of the Taiwan aviation sector and boost the coastal city's aerial industry. |
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