Kanas Airport, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, will receive tourists next July in a trial operation, sources with the National Tourism Administration said here on Tuesday.

Construction of the airport, which began in May and will cost 198 million yuan (24.75 million U.S. dollars), is underway.

About 60 percent of the construction work has already been completed.

The airport, located in Burqin County, is designed to handle Boeing 737s and will process 220,000 passengers a year in 2013.

Kanas, a world geological park recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, received 700,000 tourists between Jan.1 and Oct.7 this year, a rise of 130,000 over the same period of last year.

Source: Xinhua