Wudang Mountain Airport begins construction

Wudang Mountain Airport officially began construction on Dec 8.

The Wudang Mountain Airport construction site is located at the boundary of Fangkuai village and Jiancao village, part of the Shiyan Economic Development Zone and Maojian district, respectively.

The airport is 15 kilometers away from the city center and is an important feeder-line airport in China's 12th Five-Year Plan. It will also be the only new airport constructed in Hubei province during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

The total investment in the project is 1.54 billion yuan ($246.9 million), and the runway will stretch 2,600 meters. The terminal area was designed based on a 900,000-passenger throughput target and 2,250 tons of expected cargo throughput in 2020.

The terminal building will cover an area of 9,000 square meters, and the station site will have five airplane hangars. Facilities construction includes the establishment of auxiliary facilities for communication, navigation, electricity, water supply, fuel feeding, and fire rescue equipment.

Wudang Mountain Airport was first planned in 1984. On Sept 12, 2012, the project finally got approval from the Standing Committee of the State Council. The airport will be completed and put into use in 2015.

Wudang Mountain Airport will mainly focus on the domestic tourism market and will feature general air services. Its distance to Wuhan, Xi'an, Zhengzhou and Chongqing is about 500 kilometers, requiring only half an hour to reach those cities.