The construction of a third runway at Shenzhen International Airport has been approved, according to a notice released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planning body, on its official website recently.
In the approval, NDRC said the third runway will meet demands made by rapid growth in aviation and accelerate the construction of world-class airports in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area while promoting the development of the international air transport hub.
The project is designed to satisfy the projected 80 million passengers and 2.6 million tons of cargo that will go through the airport in 2030.
The project, at an investment of 12.3 billion yuan (US$1.76 billion), includes a 3,600-meter-long and 45-meter-wide runway that can accommodate landing and takeoff of all types of commercial aircraft, and aviation control facilities such as a 3,200-sqm control tower, 9,500-sqm business operation building and 800-sqm equipment building for air control, communication, navigation, monitoring and meteorology.
The Shenzhen government and Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will separately be responsible for runway project and aviation facilities costs.
Shenzhen Airport Group and CAAC Central and Southern Regional Administration will be responsible for project implementation.
The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area released in February last year mentioned building a world-class airport cluster in the Pearl River Delta.
It included plans for strengthening the status of Hong Kong’s international aviation hub, enhancing the international competitiveness of the Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports, and promoting the functions of the Macao and Zhuhai airports.
It also plans to elevate the status of the Shenzhen airport, making Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen the top-four international hubs on the Chinese mainland.
In 2019, the Shenzhen airport passenger throughput exceeded 52.9 million, an increase of 7.3 percent over 2018, and cargo and mail throughput was 1.28 million tons, up by 5.3 percent. It is now operating international routes to 60 cities worldwide and has international passenger turnover reaching 5 million, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the total passengers coming through the airport.
The airport currently has two runways. The second runway, 3,800 meters in length and 60 meters in width, was put into use in 2011.