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China Southern Airlines is planning to spend more than US$134 million to upgrade its operations at Beijing Capital Airport.

This investment will be used to upgrade its facilities to be used for its recently-ordered Airbus A380 aircraft and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, scheduled for delivery in late 2007.

“The foundation of the Beijing branch is crucial for China Southern's sustained development,” said Mr. Liu Shaoyong, Chairman, China Southern Airlines. He added that, “now that China Southern has merged with China Northern Airlines and Xinjiang Airlines, Beijing is an ideal hub to link the airline markets in central south and northwest China, as well as key International routes.”

Among its 18 branches and sub-branches, the Beijing branch is China Southern's largest and most important. 

Mr. Liu said that China Southern, “has high hopes that the Beijing branch would make the best out of the booming air travel market from the capital, as well as tap potential business related to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games”.

International passengers that passed through Beijing last year totaled about 10 million, topping all other airports in China. This figure represents 31.1% of all international passengers handled by the nation's airports.

China Southern operates 43 flight routes from Beijing. It is expected to handle nine million passengers to and from Beijing this year, and have a business turnover of 4 billion yuan (US$493.22 million), accounting for approximately 10% of its total business. Beijing Capital International Airport handled more than 34 million passengers in 2004, compared with more than 20 million at the recently opened Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou.

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