Shanghai's two airports could soon be linked by a maglev train line, if the central government approves the project, officials with a government-backed construction company said yesterday.

The city is also planning to build two highways linking the Pudong International Airport with downtown Shanghai and Jinshan District.

The existing maglev line, which currently connects Pudong International Airport with the Longyang Road Metro Station, will be extended over the next few year across the Huangpu River to the Hongqiao Airport.

The connection will allow travelers to commute between the two airports in about 15 minutes, according to Xu Zheng, president of Shanghai Construction Group.

The two airports are about 40 kilometers apart, and it takes more than an hour to travel between them by car. Many people fly into the Hongqiao Airport from other parts of the country, and then have to catch international flights out of Pudong.

"China's maglev construction technology has reached the world-class level," said Xu. "So technically speaking, we are confident about extending the maglev line."

According to the preliminary plan, the maglev will extend from the Longyang Road Metro Station to the Hongqiao Airport with stops at the World Expo site and the Shanghai South Railway Station.

Xu said it is still not clear if a new tunnel will be built under the Huangpu River to accommodate the extended line. He said the route and distance of the line have not been finalized yet.

The company declined to estimate the cost of the project, only saying it will be much higher than the cost of building a subway line. The current maglev line, which covers 30 kilometers, cost 8.9 billion yuan to build. It opened three years ago.

"Subway construction is very mature now, but the long-distance maglev technology is new," Xu said.

"The new maglev connection between the two airports will lift the city's role as an international aviation transfer hub," said a senior engineer surnamed Chen from the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau.

He said the maglev connection is an indispensable part of the city's plans to upgrade its international competitiveness over the next five years.

The city is also looking at plans to extend the Maglev line to Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in the future.

Also yesterday, the Shanghai Airport Authority announced plans to build two expressways linked to Pudong International Airport.

One expressway will link the airport to downtown Shanghai, while the other will extend about 83 kilometers to Jinshan District, according to Wu Nianzu, chairman and president of the airport authority, operator of the city's two airports.

He said the highways would be completed within five years, but didn't give details about routes or costs.

(Shanghai Daily January 24, 2006)