The newly opened Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport has injected tremendous vitality into the logistics industry in surrounding areas, local media reported.

An aerial photo of the Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport [Photo/IC]

The new airport is located in Jiaozhou, a county-level city of Qingdao. It is the first 4F-level airport in Shandong province and can handle big civil aviation aircraft including the Airbus 380 and Boeing 747.

Other 4F airports in China include the Beijing Capital International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Since the beginning of this year, Jiaozhou has signed 18 new logistics projects with a total investment of 2.5 billion yuan ($385.5 million). The city also has 14 logistics projects with a total investment of about 16 billion yuan under construction.

To date, the city's has more than 2,000 registered logistics enterprises. The number of enterprises with a registered capital of more than 10 million yuan currently stands at 236.

The new airport will cement the role of Qingdao as a gateway for Japan and South Korea into China, and the local logistics industry has already been embracing many opportunities created by the facility, said industry experts.

The northern cargo zone of the airport and its surrounding areas already boast a presence of around 70 airline logistics enterprises and freight forwarding companies.

Construction of the Jiaodong Airport Economic Demonstration Zone, which will become a new development engine in the Jiaodong Economic Circle area, is being accelerated.  

The zone, which aims to become a world-class intelligent aviation hub, will foster a diversified and integrated airport economy featuring industries for modern logistics, aviation, high-tech manufacturing and others.

The airport will also help Qingdao play a bigger role in the Belt and Road Initiative and give full play to the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation in Jiaozhou.