China To Construct Largest Artificial Island Airport For 43 Million Travelers, Deets Inside

China is to transform the way the world flies with what it says will be the world’s biggest artificial-island airport, reports South China Morning Post. Designed to create Dalian as a key transport center, the Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport will cover an incredible 20 square kilometers (7.72 square miles), trumping Hong Kong International Airport, which covers 12.48 sq km and Kansai International in Japan, which covers 10.5 sq km, both of them also artificial islands.

The offshore Jinzhouwan Airport will serve Dalian, a vital northeastern port city known for its strategic location and trade links with Japan and South Korea. Situated on a peninsula at the northern edge of the Bohai Strait, Dalian has a population of over 6 million and is a hub for oil refineries, shipping, logistics, and coastal tourism.

This is truly the largest airport of its kind,” said Li Hanming, founder of aviation consultancy SCMP, speaking to the scale of the project.

Features Of Jinzhouwan International Airport

When operational, the Jinzhouwan Airport will set new standards for aviation infrastructure:

Runways and Terminal: The airport will have four runways and a massive terminal of 900,000 square meters, or 9.69 million square feet.

Passenger and Cargo Capacity: The airport will be able to serve 43 million passengers annually at the start, twice the size of the current Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport. This number will increase to 80 million passengers and also be able to handle one million tonnes of cargo yearly.
It is expected to cost around $4.3 billion and is expected to become fully operational by 2035.

The current Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport was constructed during the Japanese occupation nearly a hundred years ago. It was expanded multiple times, and yet, it has surpassed its limit. In 2023, it passed 658,000 international passengers. Its location in a valley surrounded by mountains poses great challenge to pilots, especially in cases of bad weather.

“The place is not easy to maneuver, dangerous even, especially in adverse weather,” said Li Hanming.

The Liaoning provincial government has confirmed that good progress was made on the project. Up to August, work in deep foundation covering 77,000 square meters was completed, and additional land reclamation and terminal foundation construction were in hand.

However, building an airport on an artificial island is no easy task. Li cautioned against the possible vulnerabilities of such infrastructure. “Island airports are at high risk of being cut off if they rely on single bridge connections,” he noted, warning of potential threats from earthquakes, typhoons, and ship collisions.

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