Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport has won state approval for a 15.3 billion yuan (US$1.97 billion) expansion that features a second runway and a new terminal, the National Development and Reform Commission said.　

The growth plan for the smaller of the city's two airports is expected to boost Hongqiao's capacity to 40 million passengers a year by 2015. The expansion project comprises a 3,300-meter runway and a new terminal with an area of 250,000 square meters, plus new public facilities, the commission said.

The airport now operates a 3,400-meter runway and terminal space totaling 81,600 square meters. The design capacity of the existing facility is 9.6 million passengers a year, far short of the passenger throughput of 19 million last year.

"The airport expansion is urgently needed to meet the demands of economic growth in the East China region and the coming World Expo 2010," the commission said. "It will also help in build Shanghai into a major air hub and build Hongqiao into a comprehensive transport site."

"Construction of the expansion project will start after a feasibility study on a detailed plan is finished," said Su Weiwei, an official at the Shanghai Airport Authority, Hongqiao's operator.

Source:佚名