CHANGSHA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- An air route linking central China's Changsha city with Nairobi, Kenya, will open on June 12, local authorities said Tuesday.

Operated by China Southern Airlines with an Airbus 330, the outbound flight is scheduled to depart Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, every Wednesday and Sunday at 12:50 a.m. and arrive in Nairobi at 7:30 a.m. local time. The return flight will take off at 12:50 p.m. and land in Changsha at 6:05 a.m. next day.

Trade volume between Hunan and Africa reached 2.8 billion U.S. dollars last year. Hunan investors have injected nearly one billion U.S. dollars into more than 120 enterprises in Africa, according to the provincial finance and commerce department.

The first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Changsha between June 27 and 29. The opening of the new air route is expected to facilitate economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.