More airports specializing in general aviation will be built in East China to meet growing demand for private jets and small business planes, with the first possibly located in Shanghai's Fengxian district, according to the China General Aviation Association (CGAA).

Association spokeswoman Wang Xia made the comments at a conference in Beijing on Sunday marking the release of the 2010 China General Aviation Development Report.

General aviation refers to civilian aircraft used for public services, and mostly cover industrial, agriculture and forestry use, as well as aviation training.

According to the report, 23 percent of general aviation is used for fuel services, 21 percent for aviation training and 20 percent for other uses.

"In recent years we've seen a growing demand for general aviation flights, which the existing two airports, Pudong and Hongqiao, don't offer. The construction of general aviation airports has come on to the agenda," Wang told the Global Times Sunday.

However, experts say this is not the first time such efforts have been made.

"In fact, Shanghai had one general aviation airport before - the Longhua Airport in Xuhui district was a general aviation airport until three years ago when it was closed. It's reasonable to think of building a new one right now," Tu Qiyu, research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

According to Wang, the new airport will have a helicopter pad and one-kilometer-long runway, and will serve as a landing point for private and business jets in Shanghai.

However, details about the airport's investment and exact location are not yet available. "Whether it will end up in Fengxian district or not, we will have to first complete our research and wait for final approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China," Wang added.

Fengxian, the southeastern district 40 kilometers from downtown Shanghai, is considered because it's close to the sea and adjacent to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, said Wang.

Wang added that there are currently over 90 general aviation airports nationwide, and 168 more are expected to be built within the next five years. According to the report, there will be 2,031 general aircraft in use by the end of 2015, more than double the current 1,000.

Feng Peide, director of the Science and Technology Committee of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, told reporters at the two sessions in March this year that China will increase the number of its civilian helicopters by 500 every five years to a total of 5,000 by the end of 2030.