On June 9, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the Tibetan Autonomous Region’s (TAR) government announced that Tibet will soon have three new airports. A communiqué said: “Construction of the three airports, all above the altitude of 3,900 meters, should begin in 2019.”
Xinhua gave the rationale: “Tourist travel will be more convenient, and economic development in Tibet’s agricultural and pastoral areas will also be assisted.”
The announcement came during Conference Civil Aviation System Supporting Tibet Airport Construction Development held in Lhasa on June 8.
The entire project is called ‘3+1’ because the Lhasa Gongkar airport will get a second runaway. the scheme comes under Tibet’s 13th Five-year Plan (2016-20) with a planned investment of 16.7 billion yuan ($ 2.6 billion).[Source]
