Shanghai's airports plan to increase the number of Muslim eateries in their terminals before the 2010 World Expo.

During the six-month event, visitors from dozens of Muslim countries and regions are expected to arrive in the city, airport officials said.

"We are planning to attract more Muslim food suppliers to operate business inside local airports with possible discounts in rental fees. We also plan to have them serve Muslim food cooked to order," said Shanghai Airport Authority official Ying Genbao.

Two Haibao mascots pose with volunteers from the Shanghai Airport Authority at Hongqiao Airport yesterday to promote the 2010 World Expo. Shanghai's two airports are already making preparations for the expected influx of visitors to the event. [Shanghai Daily]

 

Currently, Muslim food is pre-cooked elsewhere.

Airport officials also said that nearly 50 million yuan (US$7.3 million) will have been spent on renovating and expanding facilities at Pudong and Hongqiao airports by the end of this year. Next year, another 70 to 80 million yuan will be invested in improvement projects at Pudong International Airport.

Since Terminal 2 went into service earlier this year, there have been complaints about the inconvenience of transfers between domestic and international flights.

(Shanghai Daily December 19, 2008)