Qiemo Yudu airport is set to open to commercial traffic on December 19, 2016, after a two year construction period.
China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou) has announced that it will launch an Urumqi-Korla-Qiemo Yudu-Korla-Urumqi route five-times weekly using an E190 aircraft.
Located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the new airport has a runway length of 2800 metres and a 4,500 square metre terminal, capable of handling 120,000 passengers and 480 tonnes of cargo annually. The total cost of the project was CNY588 million (USD85.4 million). Other routes are expected to serve Hotan and Kuqa. The new airport replaces Qiemo's current airport, which had a runway of just 1700 metres.
Qiemo County is in China’s far west, near the border with Tibet. The primary industry is agriculture and the area is also high in mineral resources.
The new development is part of the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s plan to open up the country’s air transportation network, particularly in rural areas. Beginning 2012, China has committed to build eighty-two new airports and renovate more than one hundred existing airports.
