China is adding a new premium airport to its list of airfields, it is preparing to build the world’s largest airport on an artificial island, the International Airport “Dalian ginzhou Bay” off the northeast coast of the country.
The airport will cover an island of 20 square kilometers with four runways, a passenger terminal of 900 thousand square meters, according to the airport statement. The project aims to serve 80 million passengers annually through 540 thousand flights.
According to CNN, the first phase is scheduled to open in 2035, and once completed, it will become the world’s largest airport on an artificial island, surpassing Hong Kong International Airport, and Kansai Airport in Japan.
The site for the new airport was chosen in 2003, but construction began in earnest only a few years ago. China is overtaking the United States to become the world’s largest air travel market.
“The construction process has faced great challenges, because the project has complex geological conditions and high drilling difficulty with a tight delivery schedule,” says Li Xiang, Chief Engineer of Dalian airport construction and development.
China opened its second Beijing airport in October 2019, the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the people’s Republic, and officials said at the time that the country would need 450 airports by 2035 to keep up with demand.
