Design for new Huanghua terminal approved

The design of the new terminal building of the Huanghua International Airport in Changsha, Hunan province, was approved by the Hunan provincial government after evaluation by experts. The new terminal building will be about 163,000 sq. m. in size, with a total investment of about RMB 1.5 billion. The construction will start this year and will be completed and put into operation in the first half of 2010. The original terminal began operations in September 2000 with a total area of 36,000 sq. m. By the end of 2006, the passenger throughput at the airport had reached 6.6 million, ranking first among the six Chinese provinces, and breaking the airport capacity of 4.6 million. The current airport apron has 19 parking slots with 27 operating during peak hours. The current runway is 2,600 meters long and can only accommodate the landing and takeoff of small and medium aircraft. The design bidding drew participants outside China. There were nine China-foreign joint units that joined. The design that was selected was of the Hunan Provincial Architectural Design Institute and Atkins of the United Kingdom. The new terminal building will be built in about three years. The construction will begin this year and is expected to be finished in 2010 with the Huanghua Airport sporting a new look. The new terminal will include two levels with an area of 56,000 sq.m. for underground carpark and business establishments. As part of the expansion project, the runway will be extended from 2,600 to 3,200 meters. Four exit taxiways will be added and the apron will be expanded to 213,000 sq. m., with the hall for international flights expanding from 3,500 sq.m. to 9,892 sq. m.