China will allocate up to 77 billion yuan ($11.7 billion) for the building of new airports this year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The aviation agency said that aside from constructing civil aviation infrastructure, it will also build several new and important airports in Beijing, Chengdu, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Dalian to meet increasing travel demands.

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In a statement, the administration said it will step up its expansion work on 52 existing aviation facilities and start construction of 11 key projects this year.

The aviation agency also announced that the construction of Beijing's second largest airport, which is considered to be the largest construction project in Chinese civil aviation history, is going well. The statement said construction of terminal and air control facilities began in September and work on the support facilities will begin in June.

"The construction of the second largest airport is going well as planned and we expect to finish work on the new airport very soon," the statement said.

The agency is expecting the new airport to be finished by 2019 with operations scheduled to start in December that same year.

According to the statement, China is set to build 66 new civil airports in the next five years, raising the number of the mainland's airports from 206 to 277.

The agency said there is an urgent need for the  construction of major and important airports to cater for the large influx of local and international travelers over the years.

As the demand for air travel increases, China, for its part, will spend billions in building the airports to meet the travel needs of its travelers.

Reports indicate that more than 4 billion domestic trips were made by Chinese travelers last year while 120 million overseas trips were taken by Chinese clients in the same period last year, a 16 percent increase compared to 2014.

China's civil aviation authorities said 440 million trips by air were made by Chinese travelers last year. 

Tags$11.7 billion, Civil Aviation Administration of China, 66 new civil airports in five years, Beijing's second largest airport, 277 airports