Binhai area promises big growth

Binhai area promises big growth: "Infrastructure facilities will be strengthened to meet their growing needs. Tianjin is upgrading Binhai International Airport to a North China air hub: passenger volume is expected to surge from 2.15 million in 2005 to 6.5 million in 2010; and cargo shipments will jump from 96,000 tons to 500,000 tons during the same period, he said. The completion of an express train line by June 2008, just before the Beijing Olympic Games, will link the city to the capital with a half-hour ride. 'In the short run, the integration of air traffic service in Tianjin and Beijing will contribute to the Olympic Games; in the long run, it will make BNA into a transport centre in North China,' he said. At the ongoing National People's Congress annual session, Pi said he proposed building an oil reserve base in the area. For one thing, proven oil reserves in the Bohai Sea area are 3.2 billion tons, and Tianjin Port is being revamped for use of 300,000-ton oil tankers. In addition, oil pipelines have been laid from the port to many regions, he said. (China Daily 03/10/2006"