BEIJING — China's civil airport industry saw steady growth in the past 10 years, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Airport construction reported both expanded quantity and improved quality over the last decade, Zhang Rui, a senior official with the CAAC, told a press conference.

The number of licensed transport airports surged from 158 to 238, improving the density to 2.5 per 100,000 square kilometers from 1.6 in 10 years. The amount of licensed general airports increased nine-fold to 240, surpassing that of licensed transport airports, Zhang said.

Several world-leading projects were completed during the period, such as Beijing Daxing International Airport, Kunming Changshui International Airport and the Satellite Hall of Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The transport capacity of the airports registered robust growth, with the annual passenger throughput more than tripled to 1.26 billion trips and cargo volume nearly doubled to 16.74 million tons. Air traffic movement reached 11.09 million, compared with 4.23 million 10 years ago.

Airports with over 10 million passenger throughput grew from 10 to 37, with eight airports ranking among the top 50 in the world, according to Zhang.

Beijing Capital International Airport has the world's second-largest passenger traffic while Shanghai Pudong International Airport has been the third-largest by cargo traffic for 11 consecutive years.

China's civil aviation industry owns 261 runways, 6,166 stands and a total terminal area of 15.16 million square meters with over 700,000 current employees, said Zhang.

The industry also took opening-up moves in the period. Direct flights with 63 Belt and Road countries are in service, operating around 5,100 flights each week. Chinese enterprises participated in the design, investment or construction of over 70 overseas airports.