China's westernmost airport opens, lending Pamir residents wings (2)

This photo taken on Dec 19, 2022 shows the Taxkorgan Airport at Taxkorgan Tajik autonomous county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

MOST CHALLENGING TASK

Equipped with a 3,800-meter runway, the airport is designed to handle an annual throughput of 160,000 passengers and 400 tonnes of cargo and mail. Construction of the airport began in 2020, with an investment of more than 1.6 billion yuan (about $229 million).

Building an airport on the Pamir Plateau has not been easy, with the lack of oxygen and cold weather impacting the efficiency of airport workers and slowing the progress of the project.

"It is one of the most challenging tasks I've ever taken on," said Xu Changjiu, the technical director of the terminal area of the airport, who has been working in airport engineering for more than 20 years.

In September 2020, Xu came to Taxkorgan for the first time to survey the construction site with more than 100 workers. But they soon started to experience altitude sickness -- low fever, dizziness and even vomiting.

As they struggled to adapt to the plateau climate, some Tajik residents brought naan bread and hot tea from home, and some offered to share the work of transporting concrete.

"We felt the locals' warmth and their hopes for the airport. We were determined to complete the project, no matter how hard it seemed to be," Xu said.

Earlier this year, through the concerted efforts of over 4,000 workers, the flight area and terminal of the airport were completed as scheduled, passing the acceptance check.

"In the past, I needed to travel 40 to 50 hours by bus and train to get to Beijing. Thanks to the new airport, the plane has slashed the time to only eight hours," said Mirsayip Nuralip, a local Tajik resident who attended college in Beijing.