KUNMING, Dec. 7 -- China has approved the construction of the fourth-biggest gateway airport in Kunming after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou's, China News Service reported today.

The construction will kick off late this month, which will connect European and Asian countries, said Liu Zhijun, an official of Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province.

The investment into the new airport, in Guandu District, exceeds 23 billion yuan (US$2.94 billion), Liu said.

After the airport is built, visitors from Europe and the United States can fly directly to Kunming. Visa-on-arrival service is not available at the current Kunming airport, so foreign visitors have to fly to Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou before they transfer to Kunming.

The new airport will be the only one to link Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe that China will build in the coming five years, according to the country's 11th Five Year Plan through 2010.