The Ngari Airport in west Tibet will open to traffic in 2011, Dawa Tashi, deputy secretary of prefectural Party committee in Ngari Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Ngari, 1,600 km from Lhasa, capital of Tibet, covers an area of 300,000 sq km, with an average altitude of 4,500 meters.

Called "the peak of mountains and source of rivers" and "Tibet roof," the prefecture boasts a highest range of mountains in the world, such as the Himalayas, Kangdese and Kara Korum.

Dawa Tashi, also an administrative supervisory commissioner of Ngari prefectural Party, said: "The airport project, planned in 2006, has gone smoothly since it was launched in 2007. All the runways, terminals, staff apartments and public facilities were completed by the end of 2008. A trial operation is expected on July 1 next year and operation open officially in 2011."

"In the near future, we also want to make it one of the major national airports, from which routes to Lhasa, Chengdu (capital of Sichuan Province) and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will be open," he added.

Farthest from Lhasa among Tibet's seven prefectures and cities, Ngari has experienced restriction in social and economic progress due to its remoteness. It takes four days to drive to Lhasa because of distance plus poor roads, Dawa Tashi sighed.

"Once the airport opens, it will take only two hours to Lhasa. By then, more people, materials and information will be more accessible to us. It is really significant for Ngari’s development, especially for its tourism industry," Dawa added.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2009)