Expansion project of south China int'l airport to be operational in December

HAIKOU, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The expansion project of Haikou Meilan International Airport in south China's resort island of Hainan will be operational on Dec. 2, according to the airport.

The project consists of a new terminal, 3,600-meter-long runway, and ground transport facilities. The new runway will be able to handle the Airbus A380 jet, the world's largest passenger airliner.

Covering a total area of 300,000 square meters, the new Terminal Two will have 110 check-in counters and house duty-free shops with a total area of 10,000 square meters.

As a supporting facility of the new runway, a 108-meter-tall new control tower was put into operation on Saturday.

After the expansion, the Meilan airport is expected to be able to handle an annual passenger throughput of 45 million and a cargo throughput of 600,000 tonnes.

Hainan is working to build itself into an international tourism and consumption center.