(Yicai) Dec. 23 -- Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province said it has received the green light from the country's cabinet to start constructing its new airport project.

Guangzhou will accelerate preparation work to build the new international Pearl River Delta Hub Airport after getting the State Council's nod, the city government announced on its website on Dec. 20.

The new airport will be located in Guangzhou's neighboring city of Foshan, according to a previously released feasibility report. The plan is to achieve an annual passenger throughput of 30 million and cargo and mail throughput of 500,000 tons by 2035.

China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area includes several cities in the province and the special administrative regions, making it rather difficult to coordinate and plan the transport capacity among major airports and resulting in relatively fierce market competition, Wang Ping, an insider from the civil aviation industry, told Yicai. High-level planning and coordination are needed to maximize regional benefits, Wang noted.

The Greater Bay Area has had five major airports in a radius of less than 200 km, including the Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen international airports, with their respective annual passenger throughput of over 10 million.

The Pearl River Delta Hub Airport will be category 4E, meaning it can host aircraft with a wingspan of up to 65 meters and a reference field length of at least 1.8 kilometers. It will have a terminal with an area of 370,000 square meters, transportation facilities including an integrated transport center and a parking garage, and auxiliary freight and municipal supporting buildings.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev