2011-02-24 15:48

BEIJING - The Chinese government will invest more than 1.5 trillion yuan ($227.3 billion) in the aviation sector in the next five years to 2015, Li Jiaxiang, director of Civil Aviation Administration of China, said Thursday.

The figure is half a trillion yuan more than that of the previous five years, according to Li.

China will build more than 45 airports during the coming five years, bringing the total number to above 220 by 2015, Li said.

The country also planned to expand the size of its plane fleet to above 4,500 by the end of 2015, compared with more than 2,600 at the end of 2010, he said.

According to statistics released by Li, China's airline companies reported 35.1 billion yuan in profits last year, which accounted for 60 percent reaped by airline companies worldwide.