Work on the parking aprons of the satellite hall at the Shenzhen airport was officially initiated in Bao’an on Wednesday.
The project will provide 63 parking aprons, comprising 10 remote and 53 contact parking aprons, upon opening for operation simultaneously with the satellite hall in 2021.
The 2.4-billion-yuan (US$346.82 million) project includes road, lighting and power supply projects.
The satellite hall, which is under construction, will handle 22 million passengers a year, adding to the airport’s overall capacity.
Located between T3 and the runways, the satellite hall will be connected with T3 by an underground fast transit system.
The X-shaped satellite hall project includes a satellite hall with 56 boarding bridges, a fuel supply project and other auxiliary projects.
With an investment of 10.9 billion yuan, the satellite hall project covers 235,000 square meters and will have five stories, including the underground fast transit system, and floors for domestic arrivals and departures.
According to the design, the satellite hall will only provide boarding and transfers services. Passengers will still need to complete check-in, luggage consignment, luggage claim and security checks at T3.
The future transit system will include three stops connecting to T3, the satellite hall and the future T4. The trains will depart at two to five-minute intervals, and a one-way trip between T3 and the satellite hall will take about three minutes.
T4 and the third runway will be built on 4.2 million square meters of land that has been reclaimed from the sea, which is equivalent to 600 standard soccer pitches. Work on T4 is scheduled to start in 2020.
The Shenzhen airport is one of the busiest airports in the Greater Bay Area. In the first quarter of this year, it saw 1.2 million international travelers, up 31 percent compared to the same period last year.