(Yicai) Feb. 25 -- Shuangliu International Airport in southwestern Chengdu, China's third-largest aviation hub, has reopened its T1 terminal after completing a renovation project. The airport now has two terminals available for use.

The revamped terminal became operational yesterday, China News reported on the same day. Other western aviation hubs, including Xi'an, Chongqing, and Kunming, also plan to expand over the next few years, each expecting to handle around 100 million passengers a year.

Chengdu solidified its position as China's third-largest aviation hub last year after its two airports -- Shuangliu International and Tianfu International -- had record high passenger throughput of 87.3 million, up 16.6 percent from a year earlier. The city also handled record air freight, surging 33 percent to 1.03 million tons.

If the growth rate of 16.6 percent is repeated this year, Chengdu will become only the third Chinese city to handle more than 100 million passengers after Beijing and Shanghai.

Chengdu will continue to be an important western air hub, especially in terms of international passenger flow, Gu Xingshu, deputy dean of Southwest Minzu University's School of Public Administration, told Yicai.

The city’s two airports have a design capacity of 105 million passengers and are expected to reach the upper limit in three to four years, Gu said.

On Feb. 20, the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport opened its T5 terminal as a part of the third phase of an expansion project. After completion, the airport will have four runways and four terminals, with an annual passenger throughput of 83 million and cargo throughput of 1 million tons.

Chongqing International Jiangbei Airport's T3B terminal will be completed this quarter. Once it goes live, the airport will be able to handle 80 million passengers a year, 580,000 aircraft, and 1.2 million tons of freight.

Last September, Kunming Changshui International Airport began building its T2 terminal, with its passenger capacity likely increasing to 95 million after the project is completed. It also expects to handle 633,000 aircraft and 1 million tons of cargo.

Editor: Martin Kadiev