An additional taxiway and apron came under construction March 23 as the building of Terminal II progresses at the south end of Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport.

The renovation and expansion schedule is for the West 2 taxiway and links to the existing parallel one to be completed next August, Terminal II apron and East 2 taxiway next September, rapid-exit taxiway area next October, and Q- and R-level crossings next December. A transport hub north of the terminal will come under construction soon and the entire 191,000-sqm (47-acre) seabird-shaped T2 project will be finished by June 2023.

Groundbreaking ceremony [Photo by Zhong Fan / Guanhai App]

The number of aircraft apron stands will increase from 23 to 51 by the end of 2022 supplemented by a relocated firefighting master station, lighting system, and trial-run and isolated aircraft stands. The project cost is 930 million yuan ($143 million).

Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport is expected to handle 198,000 flights, 27.5 million passengers, and 104,000 tons of cargo and mail annually by 2027. The airport opened in 1995 with a designed capacity of 12 million passengers annually. Volume exceeded 10 million in November 2018 and the renovation and expansion were initiated in 2019 to meet demands.

The Airport Authority of Hong Kong has been operating and managing Zhuhai Airport under a franchise since 2006. Only domestic flights within China and its special administrative regions are handled at Zhuhai.

Upon operation, the project is to elevate the status of Zhuhai as an aviation hub on the west bank of the Pearl River in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while boosting tourism and urban competitiveness.