Construction kicked off on the second phase of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport yesterday, a project that will increase the facility's passenger capacity by 3.2 times.

 

The project, with an investment of seven billion yuan (US$94 million), will cover five million square meters.

 

The first stage of the project includes a 96,000-square-meter passenger terminal and a 220,000-square-meter parking apron, which is scheduled to be finished in 2010.

 

The entire project is expected to be completed in 2011, by which time the airport will have two runways big enough to accommodate the superjumbo Airbus A380.

 

The only civil airport in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, will be capable of handling 25.6 million passengers annually upon completion.

 

(Shanghai Daily November 9, 2007)