East China's heliport to provide "air guard" for Shanghai Expo

NANJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A heliport in east China's Jiangsu Province will be ready in early April for providing "air guard" services for the upcoming Shanghai World Expo, starting on May 1, heliport investors said Monday.

The main part would be completed in early April, five months faster than it usually took to build such a heliport, said Lu Yong, chief executive officer of Ruohang Transportation Development Co., Ltd.

A helicopter patrol drill will be held on April 15.

It would take only 20 minutes to fly from the heliport to Shanghai, the fastest way to get to Expo site if there was an emergency, Lu said.

When fully completed by the end of 2010, it could support 50 helicopters, he said.

The 120 million yuan (17.58 million U.S.dollars) investment, covers 60,000 square meters in Suzhou Industrial Park and will be the biggest civilian heliport in Jiangsu.

Shanghai World Expo, with the theme "Better City, Better Life", will be held from May 1 to Oct. 31 in Shanghai Municipality. Over 70 million visitors are expected, the largest number in World Expo history.