Kunming's new international airport – which upon completion is projected to be China's fourth largest airport – is in search of foreign investment of US$400 million to fund its development, according to a China Knowledge article published on Monday. Restrictions on foreign investment in China's airports were recently relaxed from a limit of 35 percent to 49 percent.

The report stated that Macquarie, Goldman Sachs and Singapore's Changi Airport had expressed interest in investing in Kunming's new airport, which is expected to greatly increase the city's access to international destinations via direct flights to Europe, Australia, the Americas and elsewhere in Asia. The airport will be developed by Yunnan Airport Group.

The new airport's first two runways are scheduled for completion sometime next year and will be able to handle 25 million passengers yearly, compared to the current capacity of 20 million at Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, which will reportedly remain operational until 2010.

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Last weekend in Beijing the State Council's Office for Western China Development announced that this year ten major development projects with an investment of more than 151.6 billion yuan were being launched across western China. Of the ten major projects, two are located in Yunnan.

This year work has begun on the new Kunming international airport which is projected to be the third- or fourth-largest in China upon completion in four or five years. Once operational, the airport is expected to greatly enhance Kunming's international connectivity via new routes to Europe, North America, South Asia and Australia.

The other main project in Yunnan underway as of this year is the Dali-Ruili railway, which will extend the existing Kunming-Dali line through Baoshan to Ruili, in western Yunnan on China's border with Myanmar. The line is part of the rail network that will connect Yunnan with major cities in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and also with Singapore. The regional rail network is projected for completion by 2015 and is expected to play a major role in the upcoming China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).

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The long-discussed new international airport in Kunming will be China's fourth-largest airport hub, according to an official from the Kunming Airport Economic Zone Management Committee cited by China Hospitality News.

The new airport will be located 21 km northeast of Kunming, making it more accessible to citizens of Qujing - Yunnan's second largest city - than Kunming Wujiaba Airport, which is located south of downtown Kunming.

The new airport's construction will be accompanied by road network infrastructure improvements enabling anyone living within a 200-kilometer radius to reach the airport within two hours. A 160-square kilometer Airport Economic Zone will also be built adjacent to the airport.

It seems that Kunming is looking to bring in the foreign expertise it needs to build an airport that will help it make the quantum leap from up-and-coming provincial capital to regional trade and transport hub. It has awarded UK-based design and engineering consultancy Arup the airport's design contract. Moreover, German company Fraport - which owns Frankfurt Airport - has been reported to be in talks to buy a stake in the US$1.9 billion airport project.