Construction will start on a new airport late this year in a Tibetan-populated prefecture in Northwest China to boost local development, sources with the Qinghai airport said.

The airport will be located in Dawu township, which is administered by the Golog Tibetan autonomous prefectural government in Qinghai Province. The facility was recently approved by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The airport will be completed and put into use in August 2016, said the airport source.

At an altitude of about 3,780 meters, the airport will require investment of 1.13 billion yuan ($184 million) with a throughput of 80,000 passengers and 200 tons of cargo per year, for Airbus 319 and Boeing 737-700 aircraft.

Golog covers 76,000 square kilometers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Xinhua