New airport to open soon

Wuliting airport at Hengchun, in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County, will be inaugurated Saturday next week in a bid to boost tourism in the south, it was announced Tuesday.

Three air carriers -- UNI Airways Corp (立榮), Mandarin Airlines (華信) and TransAsia Airways (復興) -- will operate one flight between Taipei and Heng-chun each day, while Mandarin Airlines and UNI Airways will operate one flight between Taichung and Hengchun each day. Flight time will be around one hour.

Once the airport is operation-al, shuttle buses will connect the airport with the resort area of Kenting.

Pingtung County Commissioner Su Chia-chuan (蘇嘉全) said that the county will mobilize Aboriginal people who will form a troupe that will sing and dance at the airport to welcome arriving quests during holiday periods.

Wuliting airport has been converted from a military airport, with construction work starting in July 2000. The total construction cost amounts to NT$539 million (US$15.85 million).

The Pingtung County Government has set up an agricultural produce exhibition center and a tourist service center at the airport that will provide hotel reservations and tourist guide services.