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Chengdu Airport new terminal to open in 2012

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-05-26 09:21

The new terminal building of Chengdu Shuangliu Airport is under construction, said the management committee of Chengdu International Aviation Hub comprehensive functional zone. "It will be put into operation next year."

The Chengdu airport's second freight depot was constructed at the end of last year and is the largest in central and western China. This year, the depot is being equipped to export and deliver goods from some of the largest electronic enterprises like Intel, Foxconn, Compal and Wistron.

Chengdu International Aviation Hub comprehensive functional zone is one of the 13 industrial functional zones the city set up in 2010. It is a major functional zone to manage the city's industrial functions.

The 38-square-kilometer zone will facilitate the development of high-end industries for aviation logistics, aviation manufacturing and maintenance, airport headquarters and airport businesses. It will cultivate itself into an international aviation portal to connect west China with Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The new terminal will be 296,000 square meters, and it will connect to the existing terminal through a renovated branch. The two terminals will take up 428,000 square meters, the largest in central and western China.

Jiang Yuneng, party secretary of the functional zone's management committee, said it will make new advances this year in infrastructure support facilities. That, Jiang said, will attract investment and house construction of ports and other projects.

The committee will strive to complete 3 billion yuan in fixed assets investment and attract 1.5 billion yuan investment (including reconstruction) this year, Jiang said. Doing that would help the airport stand out as an international aviation hub in west China.

In 2011, the committee plans to construct the new terminal, an efficient subway station and air freighter landing fields. It will create a seamless connection between the airport's second freight depot and the second runway and landing fields. Plans also include the construction of a zero-transfer traffic system, a port service building and the zone's main body. It will also work to open three international routes during 2011.

Jiang said by 2013, the overall functional zone will begin to take shape. By 2015, it will be able to deliver 40 million passengers and 800,000 tons freights in a year. By 2025, it will be able to deliver 68 million passengers and 1.7 million tons of freight in a year.