The third runway of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is qualified to start construction within this year, as its feasibility study report got the approval recently.
The third runway of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is designed to handle annual passenger and cargo volume of 63 million and 800 thousand tonnes respectively. The estimated total investment of the project reaches to 3.08 billion yuan for the airport project and air traffic control (ATC) engineering project. A 3200-meter-long and 45-meter-wide runway is planned to build.
The construction period is planned for two years. As of January this year, the airport has invested 660 million yuan into the supporting projects, and the renovation of the T2 terminal and the building of the B-mode bonded logistics center have been accelerating.
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, as the first 4F-level civil international airport in central part of China, plays an important role as an A-class airport open to the outside world and an international airport hub in China’s central region since it came into service in April, 1995.
After three phases of construction, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport now has three terminals and two runways, 3,400 meters and 3, 600 meters long respectively, allowing the large aircraft like the Airbus A380 to take off and land. Every year the airport carries the passengers of over 35 million and cargo of over 440 thousand tonnes. In 2021, the passenger flow volume of the airport got to 19.8 million, rising 54.6 percent year on year.
Statistics shows that the top 10 airports of China have all built their third runway or been planning to build. To construct the third runway is of great help for Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to improve the service level as well as to coordinate with Huahu Airport in Ezhou, China’s first cargo-oriented airport to form the “double air hubs” of Hubei. These two airports would work in coordination through railway and highway to together improve the economic and social development, said Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
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The new project will help to relieve the pressure of economic downturn brought by the COVID-19, Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission said.
As the only airline hub of Hubei, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is an essential node in the province’s air traffic network as well as an important pillar of the Belt and Road Initiative. Statistics shows that in 2021, Tianhe Airport carried passengers of 19.8 million, ranking the 13th among the airports around China and second in central China after Huanghua Airport in Changsha, Hunan.
Before 2009, the flow volume of the Airport had been ranking 1st steadily in central China. While, since 2010, the Airport started the “race” with Huanghua Airport in Changsha and Xinzheng Airport in Zhengzhou.
The expansion of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport has been continuing. The second runway, 3,600 meters long and 60 meters wide, came into service in August, 2016. The T3 terminal came into service in August, 2017. The reconstruction of T2 terminal began in October, 2021.
The airport will speed up the reconstruction of T2 terminal, the construction of B-mode bonded logistics center and the passenger service complex.
