On May 25, Myanmar's new terminal of the Yangon International Airport was put into service after about four years' renovation aiming to improve its handling of the international flights.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Acting Prime Minister and First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Thein Sein.

After the renovation, the airport can be capable of accommodating larger aircraft such as Boeing 747 and handling 900 outgoing and 900 incoming passengers simultaneously in an hour, or 2.7 million passengers a year, according to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

The two-story terminal building was extended to 240 meters from 102 meters in length and to 60 meters from 42 meters in width, while the runway to 3.6 kilometers from 2.43 kilometers, said the DCA.

Twelve airlines including a Myanmar international airline and 11 foreign airlines operate at the Yangon International Airport, with about 85 flights per week in total between Yangon and eight destinations, namely Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing via Kunming, Calcutta, Chiang Mai, Taipei and Doha.

The 11 foreign airlines flying Yangon comprise Air China, Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Qatar Airways, SilkAir, Malaysia Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Mandarin, Jetstar Asia, Phuket Airlines and Thai Air Asia.

The new renovated airport was designed by Singapore's CPG Airport Consultant Co. Ltd and jointly built by DCA and the private Asia World Co. Ltd since 2003.