March 25, 2008 10:49 AM PDT

China to build 97 airports in 12 years

by Michael Kanellos

So much for taking the bus in the People's Republic.

In its latest airport development plan, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) says the country will erect 97 new airports before 2020, according to the People's Daily, a prominent, unbiased, and properly licensed source of news in China.

The number of airports will increase to 192 by 2010 and rise to 244 by 2020, it said. Right now, there are 147 airports in China, with 45 of those serving civilian and military purposes. Building these airports will cost $64 billion, but once complete, 81 percent of the population will live within 100 kilometers of an airport.

How that will affect pollution remains to be seen. Planes emit large amounts of pollutants. Several airlines, however, are experimenting with cleaner fuels.

Topics:: Policy,; Environment,; Transportation

Tags:: China,; air travel

Share:: Digg; Del.icio.us; Reddit; Facebook

About Green Tech

Innovation in energy and environmental technologies is long overdue, in business and at home. Green-tech guru Martin LaMonica and other CNET writers serve up fresh clean-tech news and commentary.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Green Tech topics

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right

Business Tech
EMC raises bid for Data Domain
In the battle for Data Domain, EMC increases its bid to $33.50 per share in cash and says its offer is "clearly superior" to NetApp's bid.
Gallery
Photos: 'Train warriors, test weapons'
Technically Incorrect
Craigslist, eBay fighting Michael Jackson scalpers
Craigslist and eBay are full of offers of tickets to the pop singer's memorial service--some with an asking price of thousands of dollars for a pair. But are the tickets worth anything?
Beyond Binary
Windows 7 testers have long path to upgrade
Moving from the test to final version of the operating system is not as easy as just forking over the money. In some cases, two installations are required.
Video
Video: iPhone 3G S launch in New York City
Digital Media
Jammie Thomas asks for new trial
Lawyers for the Minnesota woman ordered last month to pay $1.92 million in damages for the illegal sharing of 24 copyrighted songs say judgment is "grossly excessive."
Video
A recipe for high-tech chocolate
The Social
Andreessen: Facebook revenue to top $500 million in '09
The Netscape founder, a member of Facebook's board of directors, says the social network has the potential to be a billion-dollar company already.
Cutting Edge
Large Hadron Collider grid stress-tested
The tests, which were deemed a success, threw huge amounts of data at the grid that will process information from the collider.
Gallery
Photos: Spiral Jetty, Robert Smithson's wondrous earthwork
MP3 Insider
Walkman versus the rest--Ask the Editors
MP3 editor Jasmine France addresses reader questions about various Walkman MP3 players as they compare to other models from SanDisk and Samsung.
Green Tech
Microsoft opens Hohm to energy monitoring
Can a slick Web application give you decent advice on cutting your home energy use? Based on a first look at Microsoft Hohm, CNET News' Martin LaMonica says yes.