A plan to build an airport in the area between Yunfu and Foshan, Guangdong province, has been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval, according to a top government official of Yunfu.

Construction of the airport was planned by authorities of five cities including Yunfu, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen and Zhongshan, of which most are situated in the western part of Guangdong.

"The planned airport will help boost the economy of the western area of Guangdong, which, compared with the booming Pearl River Delta, lags behind in economic development," Zhuo Zhiqiang, mayor of Yunfu.

The mountainous city of Yunfu is more than two hours' drivefrom Guangzhou, the provincial capital.

According to Zhuo, the airport is planned between Gaoming district of Foshan and Xinxing county of Yunfu.

Construction of the planned airport is in line with a national plan to build an economic belt along with the Pearl River and Xijiang River, which was announced in August this year.

Cities along the economic belt including Yangjiang, Jiangmen, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Yunfu and Wuzhou of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region have a combined population of more than 30 million.