An airport for regional flight services will be built in 2015 in the hinterland of China's largest desert, Taklimakan, in northwest China's autonomous region of Xinjiang, a source with Xinjiang Airport (Group) Co., LLC, confirmed on Saturday.

The project will cost 290 million yuan (US$42.46 million), Duan Zixin, general manager of the company, said.

The airport will provide more efficient services for commuters working with Tarim Oilfield under China's largest onshore oil producer, PetroChina.

The oil giant has a major operation, named Tangzhong, at the core of Taklimakan Desert. Currently, there is a 500 km highway traversing the desert, linking Tazhong with Korla, a city in which the headquarters of Tarim Oilfield is located.

A makeshift airport was put into operation in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert in 1988, and was abandoned in 1998, when the desert highway opened to traffic.

At present, there are 14 airports operational in Xinjiang, and the number is expected to increase to 21 by the 2015.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2009)