China is building the world’s largest artificial island airport near the northeastern city of Dalian.
The Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport will sit on a 20 square kilometre reclaimed land island, with its first phase set to open in 2035.
“The country’s largest offshore airport is rising slowly from the sea level like the sunrise in the east,” according to a WeChat post by Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport.
Dalian Jinzhou Bay will include four runways and a 900,000 square metre terminal. Its construction cost is projected to reach US$4.3 billion.
The airport hopes to accommodate 80 million passengers each year over 540,000 flights, as well as 1 million tonnes of cargo.
It will be mainland China’s first airport on an artificial island. The largest offshore airport in the world is currently Hong Kong International Airport, which covers 1905 hectares or around 19 square kilometres.
The city of Dalian, a major transport hub near Japan and South Korea, is now served by the Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport. Dalian Zhoushuizi reached its capacity in 2016, and can no longer expand due to its urban location.
Land reclamation for the new airport began in 2011, but was stalled for several years due to regulatory approval issues. Construction of the terminal’s foundation is now underway, according to state-owned media outlet China News Network.