New Delhi, Jan 30: China is expected to complete the construction of
its third station around the highest point on Antarctica by 2009, the
captain of a Chinese expedition team told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The
station will be built around Dome A, the continent's peak point at
4,093 meters above sea level; Wei Wenliang was quoted, as saying.

A 17-member Chinese expedition team has successfully scaled Dome A before deciding on the location of the new station, he said.

Construction
could start following the completion of environment assessment as
required by international procedures and is expected to finish by 2009
if everything goes well.

China started its 24th expedition on
the South Pole on November 12, when the ice breaker Xuelong left
China's eastern coastal city of Shanghai with 91 researchers and 40
crew members onboard. (ANI)