New Guangzhou airport to boost southern China's aviation network

Guangzhou will begin constructing its second airport within the year, consolidating the Guangdong provincial capital's position as an aviation hub in southern China.

The Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission released a statement listing the new airport as a key project for construction in 2024.

The airport will be located in Foshan's Gaoming district and its first phase will include two 45-meter-wide runways, reaching 3,800 and 3,600 meters long, respectively, plus a terminal and related supporting facilities, according to the statement published on the commission's official website on Wednesday.

The new airport will join the international aviation hubs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and become an aviation transportation hub for the western part of the GBA, fortifying Guangzhou's status as an international aviation transport focal point.

The new airport is projected to have an annual passenger throughput of 30 million visits by 2035 and more than 60 million by 2050. It will promote the economic development of the cities of Zhaoqing, Maoming, Yangjiang and Yunfu in the western part of Guangdong, according to the statement.

High-speed railway and expressway networks will connect to the airport, helping Guangzhou and Foshan accelerate integrated development, two major GBA cities develop westward, and the Guangdong western city of Zhaoqing develop eastward.

The new airport will help meet the growing demands of the aviation market in the prosperous GBA, the statement said.

According to official statistics, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport's passenger throughput reached 63.17 million visits last year, ranking first in the country for the fourth consecutive year.

The figure reached as high as 19.9 million passenger visits between January and March, and it is expected to approach 80 million visits in 2024, breaking a historical record.

Baiyun International Baiyun Airport, which now has two terminals in operation, is reaching its design capacity. The airport was designed to handle an annual passenger throughput of only 80 million visits.

To meet the growing demand, the third phase of the airport's expansion, which includes a new terminal and a runway, will be completed in 2025.

When the airport's third phase expansion project starts operation before the end of next year, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will become the world's largest single airport, with an annual passenger throughput capacity of more than 120 million passenger visits.