Yinchuan readies new terminal

New terminal at Yinchuan Hedong will open before the end of this year

Airport officials at Yinchuan Hedong say the new US$80 million (Yuan 600 million) terminal will be completed by the end of this year. The project includes a 32,800m² terminal building, a 3,200m runway and a 66,000m² apron area. Construction started in April 2005.

After completion, the new terminal will be used for domestic flights with 20 counters and six security channels and the old terminal, which has a design passenger capacity of 600,000 people per year, will be reserved for international flights.

The new terminal is designed by Atkins, the international engineering consultancy based in the UK. The design of the new terminal building for Yinchuan reflects the Islamic influence of the minority groups in this part of China. Atkins has secured several airport projects in China, including Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Taiyuan Wushu Airport and Xi’an Xian Yang Airport.

Passenger numbers at Yinchuan Hedong have risen continuously for the past 10 years, from 149,000 passengers in 1997, to one million last year. Total passenger numbers are expected to reach 1.35 million people this year. More than 10 airlines serve the airport, including Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, with services to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and 23 other cities.

It is expected that by 2020, Yinchuan airport will be able to handle three million passengers and 40,000 aircraft movements per year.