The number of airports in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will rise to 25 from the current 16 by 2020, as China attempts to transform the area into a major transportation hub on the Silk Road Economic Belt.

"We believe the new international airport in the regional capital of Urumqi will be operational by 2020, and will become one of the most influential aviation hubs in Central Asia," Duan Zixin, general manager of the Xinjiang Airport Group, said.

The new airport is expected have two runways long enough to accommodate the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane.