Dec. 26 - Tianjin airport has completed its large expansion project, including a new terminal and runway expansion, ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
The new terminal building is five times larger than its predecessor with a handling capacity of 10 million passengers annually airport sources told Xinhua.
The project, with a total investment of nearly RMB3 billion, started in August 2005 and included a new 116,000-square-meter terminal building, a 270,000-square-meter apron and a 62,000-square-meter parking lot. The runway was also widened to 75 meters from the current 50 meters and lengthened 400 meters to 3,600 meters.
Tianjin, 120 kilometers from Beijing, is expecting more than 300,000 officials, athletes and visitors to travel via the city’s airport en route to Beijing for the Olympics in August.
The city will also host some of the soccer preliminary matches in the newly constructed Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, completed this past August.
