HOSTING the Olympic Games will help China's aviation industry grow in double digits this year, according to the country's aviation watchdog.

Domestic carriers aim to transport 210 million passengers this year, a rise of 14 percent from a year earlier. Cargo and mail volume may grow 12 percent to 4.45 million tons, the General Administration of Civil Aviation said on its Website.

Five million overseas visitors and more than 120 million domestic travelers are expected to visit Beijing this year, according to the organizer of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Analysts predicted that the event will bring five-billion-yuan (US$689 million) in revenue to the domestic aviation industry.

In the first three quarters of last year, domestic carriers and airports earned a combined 17 billion yuan in profit, rising 74 percent from a year earlier.

However, CAAC's new head Li Jiaxiang has noted that the profit was mainly due to fuel surcharges and the appreciation of the yuan.

"Domestic carriers must remain cautious as they are still in the red if you do not include the surcharges and rising yuan," Li said in Beijing last week.

He said the administration will suspend the approval of any new airline company application until 2010 and tighten the introduction of new aircraft.

"We should fully consider the airlines' capability and safety to prevent the industry from overheating," he said.

Fixed-asset investment in the aviation industry will total 36 billion yuan this year, compared with last year's 26 billion yuan, according to the administration.

The country pledged to invest 140 billion yuan between 2006 and 2010 to build new airports and upgrade older ones, the administration said in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

The nation is expected to have 190 airports by 2010, compared with 142 at the end of 2005. About 80 percent of the investment will be earmarked to expand hub airports.