Cirrus aircraft SR-20 takes off at the Wuxi Dingshu General Airport on Nov 20, marking the opening of the airport. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

The Wuxi Dingshu General Airport in Dingshu town, Yixing city, the second airport in Wuxi, started operating on Nov 20, Wuxi Daily reported.

In addition to personal, passenger and cargo flights, general airports also accommodate things such as air performances, aerial photography, air mapping, and agricultural care.

Costing 789 million yuan ($116.73 million) to build, the Dingshu airport features a 6,165-square-meter office building, a 9,742-square-meter hangar, and a 45,000-square-meter parking apron.

The parking apron includes 18 parking spaces for fixed-wing aircraft, four parking spaces for helicopters, an 800-meter runway, and two taxiways.

Aircraft park at the Wuxi Dingshu General Airport. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

The 800-meter runway will be extended to 1,800 meters to accommodate the take-off and landing of more than 90 percent of business aircraft at the airport.

The Dingshu airport will serve as a trial flight base for new aircraft, a general aviation industrial base, and a center for public general aviation services, aviation culture exhibitions, and flight experiences, according to Wan Qiang, general manager of Wuxi Dingshu General Airport Management Co Ltd.

On the same day, Yixing authorities signed a cooperation agreement with China Metallurgical Group Corporation and Wuxi Communications Industry Group Co Ltd to establish the Dingshu Aviation Industrial Park with a total investment of 15 billion yuan ($2.11 billion).

In recent years, Wuxi has ramped up efforts to develop high-end equipment industries such as aviation equipment, and the city is currently home to 50 such enterprises involved in raw materials, key components, system integration, and maintenance.