人民网
Fri,Nov 22,2013
English>>China Society

Editor's Pick

Shanghai Pudong Airport’s satellite terminal to be world’s largest

By Yang Jian  (Shanghai Daily)    08:37, November 22, 2013
Email|Print|Comments       twitter     facebook     Sina Microblog     reddit    

Work on a third terminal building at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport will begin next year, a senior airport authority official said yesterday.

It is expected to be the world’s largest satellite terminal when it is completed in 2018, with 105 aircraft gates, according to Li Derun, president of the Shanghai Airport Authority.

The terminal will be divided into S1 and S2 and attached to the south of the current T1 and T2 buildings, Li told reporters. Aircraft will be able to park around the entire circumference of the new terminal.

Li said passengers would travel to the new terminal using a fast transport system after checking in at the current two terminal buildings. This could be by underground subway, automated people mover systems or trams.

The terminal will be able to handle 30 million passengers a year when operational.

The current terminals have 70 gates — 28 in T1 and 42 in T2 — but they are no longer enough to serve the city’s increasing number of travelers.

Six of the world’s major design companies have submitted plans for the satellite terminal, and the airport authority will decide on one early next year.

The Pudong airport is expected to handle 80 million passengers a year and 4.7 million tons of cargo by 2020 to become the world’s busiest airport, Li said.

The airport currently ranks third for cargo transport after Hong Kong and Memphis.

The first airport to use a satellite terminal was London’s Gatwick.

Other airports with satellite terminals include London Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle International in Paris.

Apart from the new terminal, the airport has finished work on its fourth runway which will be put into service next year, and is building a fifth.

The new runways will provide a testing ground for the much-anticipated Chinese-made C919 jumbo jet and China’s ARJ21 regional jet.

The two runways will cost a total of 9.4 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), according to the airport authority.

(Editor:HuangJin、Gao Yinan)

Related reading

We Recommend

Most Viewed

Day|Week|Month

Key Words

Links