XINING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A new airport will be built at the source of three main Chinese rivers, the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers in northwest China, to boost economic development in this underdeveloped area, according to local sources.

    The airport will be built at Shangbatang, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in southwestern Qinghai Province, with an estimated cost of 478 million yuan (61 million U.S. dollars).

    The airport will have a 3,800-meter-long runway and a 1,600-square-meter terminal building capable of handling 80,000 passengers by 2015.

    It will improve transport in this remote prefecture, which currently relies on highway traffic.

    The airport, 4,000 meters above sea level, will be financed by the General Administration of Civil Aviation and the National Development and Reform Commission.