BEIJING, April 28. /TASS/. China plans to begin the construction of its own orbital station in 2019, Wang Zhaoyao, the director of China's Manned Space Program Office, said on Friday.

"We completed a period of trials of a space lab and are now beginning the construction of an orbital station," he said. "In line with our plans, the construction of the station will be underway in the period between 2019 and 2022, with a huge number of [space] launches scheduled during this period."

"When the construction is over, the station will be constantly inhabited by astronauts. It would be regretful if such an opportunity is wasted," he said.