Officials said the opening of Yardong port is dependent on an improvement in the relationship between China and India.

"We have listed the opening of the Yardong port in the region's 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), and have submitted the proposal to the State Council for approval," said Tsuedrim, director of the port office of the Tibet Economic and Trade Commission.

The reopening of the port, which is located on the south tip of Tibet and borders the countries of India, Bhutan and Sikkim, would "more than double the region's border trade volume and greatly stimulate the economic development of the whole region," he said.

"If the opening of the port is resumed, we are confident that border trade in Tibet will increase by 15 per cent annually. But if China and India fail to reach an agreement to open the port, the growth rate is projected to drop to 8-9 per cent," Tsuedrim said.

Tibet registered border trade volume worth US$110 million last year.

Yardong port has been closed since the 1962 border war between India and China.

Tsuedrim said Yardong enjoys a good geographical position as it is close to Lhasa and borders three countries with a high-grade road joining Yardong and Katmandu, capital of Nepal.

He said Yardong port would take the place of Zhungmu as the largest port in Tibet.

"We hope Sino-Indian relations will be improved to pave the way for the opening of Yardong," said Tsuedrim.

Ma Xiangcun, a senior official from Tibet's Shigatse area, said the reopening of Yardong port would benefit both sides and promote exchanges and communications between the two countries.

"If the Indian Government agrees to the opening of Yardong, we will certainly agree on India's opening of its border port - Kalimpong - to China," Ma said.

He said the opening would not only boost the economy in Tibet, but would fuel foreign trade in China's western areas, such as Qinghai and Gansu provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"At present, exports from those areas to South Asian countries have to go through Guangzhou or Hong Kong. If they were to go through Yardong, the transportation cost would be largely slashed as the transportation distance would be shortened by more than 9,000 kilometres," Ma said.

"Also, there are direct roads linking Yardong and India's sea port Gandhinagar, which could facilitate imports and exports from China's western provinces to Malaysia, Indonesia and European countries."

With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway in six years, which will be the first railway linking Tibet and the rest of the country, the Yardong port is expected to play an even more important role in the development of China's western areas.

To prepare for the opening, Tsuedrim said the region is planning to invest 6 billion yuan (US$726 million) in improving the road from Shigatse to Yardong over the next five years. The region also plans to improve the facilities at the border ports, including Yardong.

Tsuedrim also said Tibet is expected to open three new ports by 2005 in the Nyingchi, Shigatse and Ari areas.

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