XINING — A civil airport located in northwest China’s Gobi Desert will open in the first half of this year, according to China West Airport Group on March 16.

The airport, which is 2,906 meters above sea level, is located in Huatugou Township in the Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi, Qinghai province.

The airport will be the underdeveloped province’s fifth civil airport. It is expected to transport 90,000 passengers and 100 tonnes of goods annually by 2020, according to the group.

The airport welcomed an Airbus 319, which arrived from the northwestern city of Xi’an, on March 13.

Huatugou has abundant natural reserves including oil, gas and sylvite. It has 15.92 million tonnes, nearly half of the country’s total reserves, of celestite, a mineral consisting of strontium sulfate.

Huatugou is 500 kilometers away from its nearest cities. The airport will greatly improve interconnectivity and the economy, according to the group.