China is building the world’s largest artificial-island airport to solidify a northeastern city’s position as a regional transport hub.
Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport will cover an island with an area of 20 sq km (7.72 square miles), according to the Liaoning provincial government’s website.
That would make it bigger than the 12.48 sq km Hong Kong International Airport and the 10.5 sq km Kansai airport near Osaka, Japan, both of which occupy artificial islands.
“For Dalian people to say it’s the largest, that’s exactly what it is,” aviation consultancy founder Li Hanming said.
The airport, now under construction, will serve the port city of Dalian, which because of its location does brisk business with nearby Japan and South Korea. With a population of more than 6 million, the city, located on a peninsula at the northern end of the Bohai Strait, has grown into a hub for oil refineries, shipping and logistics services, and coastal tourism.
The first airport in mainland China to be built on an offshore artificial island, Jinzhouwan will eventually have four runways and a 900,000 square metre (9.69 million sq ft) terminal, the provincial government website said.
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