A Regional conference focusing on the aviation cooperation between the Pearl River Delta area and the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was held in Shenzhen on Saturday.

The Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Aviation Industry Cooperation Development Conference attracted about 300 representatives from over 150 aviation companies.

The one-day conference was the first industry gala in the city aimed at regional aviation cooperation. It also involved some overseas airlines such as Lufthansa, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Air France, Singapore Airlines and Bangkok Airways.

"It was expected to serve as a platform for the aviation industry professionals to exchange information and seek business cooperation, and to provide more valuable references for the policy making," said Vice Mayor Zhang Siping at the opening ceremony Saturday.

The fierce competition between airports in the Pearl River Delta area has become obvious in recent years, and insiders worry that this would result in chaotic cross-regional competition as well as a waste of resources.

While big airports in this area have expressed interest in cooperation, they haven't taken any substantial steps forward. The urgent problem is air traffic control, a bottleneck for the further development of the aviation industry in South China.

Over the past two years, the Shenzhen airport has been ranked the fourth biggest airport in the country following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in terms of passenger flow and goods turnover.

Shenzhen aims to develop into a modern logistics hub with sea ports and airports playing a leading role and road transport as support.

The logistics industry had become one of the four pillar industries for the city together with high-tech, finance and culture.

However, some infrastructure facilities such as the runways at the airport were not enough to meet the demands, while the airport management needs to be improved compared to neighboring Hong Kong, said Zhang.

The construction of the second runway in Shenzhen airport will start by this year according to an airport expansion plan. Other industry facilities such as airport hotels and shopping centers had been taken into consideration for improvement in the near future, said Tang Dajie, deputy manager of Shenzhen Airport Group Company.

(Shenzhen Daily September 19, 2005)