Shanghai Pudong Airport sees '08 traffic up 20 pct

SHANGHAI, March 24 (Reuters) - Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the country's second-busiest airport, expects to handle 20 percent more passengers this year than in 2007 as it expands capacity, a senior executive said on Monday.

Pudong Airport will handle an estimated 35 million passengers in 2008, up from 28.95 million last year, Wu Nianzu, chairman of the Shanghai Airport Authority (SAA), which controls both Pudong Airport and the smaller Hongqiao International Airport across town, told reporters.

Cargo volume will rise to 2.9 million tonnes this year, up from roughly 2.51 million tonnes in 2007, Wu said, attributing the rise to the airport's continuing expansion.

On Wednesday, Pudong Airport will add a second terminal and a third runway, part of a 19.7 billion yuan ($2.79 billion) expansion scheme which will boost capacity to 80 million passengers by 2015.

Li Derun, executive vice president of SAA, told Reuters that the airport, which had previously announced a 2.5 billion yuan corporate bond issue, would not rule out other fund-raising options, including selling shares in Hong Kong.

Shanghai International Airport Co (600009.SS), the operator of Pudong Airport, said on March 12 that a new fee structure, which took effect on March 1, would reduce its income by about 10 percent.

Its shares have slumped nearly 25 percent since the announcement, closing at 22.79 yuan on Monday.

China's aviation regulator announced in January that the country's airports would be required to cut landing and take-off fees for foreign airlines, to bring them into line with fees paid by Chinese airlines and improve the competitiveness of the airport industry. ($1=7.050 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan; Editing by Edmund Klamann)