130 airports lose money operating foreign media worries China's airports invest too much

China plans to build 45 new airports in the next 5 years, China's civil aviation regulator said in Thursday that a further 45 airports will be built in China over the next 5 years, raising new questions about the likelihood of overcapacity in China's transportation sector. The new investment will increase the total number of airports in China to 220, said Eric Li, the director of the China Civil Aviation Administration. Most of China's existing airports are operating at a loss.　　While demand for air travel has grown rapidly in recent years as Chinese consumers have increased purchasing power, the acceleration of airport infrastructure expansion over the past two years has become one of the many potential sources of overinvestment. Mr Li said the government would invest 1.5 trillion yuan in the aviation industry as of 2015.　　Mr Li reportedly admitted 24th that 130 of China's 175 existing airports are operating at a loss. Despite rising air traffic, new large airports in some of China's biggest cities are fast approaching saturation, but industry officials say there are also a large number of new airports in small and medium-sized cities that are only landing several flights a week.　　As China's growing middle class is more able to travel, Goldman predicts passenger demand will grow by 15% this year. The rapid expansion of China's high-speed rail network has also raised questions about overinvestment.　　While some analysts believe high fares will dampen consumer demand for high-speed rail, proponents of high-speed rail investment argue that the expansion of passenger trains will make room for the existing rail network to transport goods such as coal. But the new high-speed train will also become a formidable competitor in the aviation industry. A potential boon for China's new airport may come from small aircraft. China's announcement last year that it would open 4000 meters of airspace to civilian aircraft could boost the use of light aircraft.　　Writes Geoff Dyer, February 24 (Reuters)-China will have more than 220 airports in the next 5 years, said 24th, China plans to build 45 new airports in the next 5 years, when the total number of airports will reach more than 220 seats. China is in the process of expanding its airport, creating 4 aviation hubs across the country and establishing routes to remote and impoverished parts of the west. The Secretary for Civil Aviation, Mr Eric Li, said that during the Eleven-Five-year period, China's civil aviation Authority subsidized more than 6 billion of its feeder subsidies, which has contributed to local development, especially in the development of the airport in remote areas. ▲ (Zhou Ming translation)