(Yicai) Feb. 14 -- China’s eastern city of Suzhou, a major tourist destination with an economy worth more than CNY1 trillion (USD137.2 billion), will start building its first airport for civil aircraft this year, with completion scheduled for next year.

The new facility will be an A1-level general airport, handling planes with more than 10 passenger seats but not big jets, and cover about 75.8 hectares, the local authorities said this week. It is expected to serve special charter flights such as aerial displays, photography, mapping, as well as agricultural and forestry operations.

The airport will serve many functions, including aviation-related commercial activities, flight training, public services, and emergency rescue operations. It will also have dedicated areas and training facilities for drones to support the development of the low-altitude economy.

The decision to build a smaller general aviation hub in Suzhou rather than a big civil airport stems from the city’s close proximity to Shanghai and the already high density of airports in the Yangtze River Delta region, industry insiders told Yicai.

The region, which encompasses cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Hefei, already has seven airports handling in excess of 10 million passengers each a year. And all nine civil airports in Jiangsu province, where Suzhou is located, have annual passenger volumes of over one million

Sunan Shuofang International Airport, Jiangsu's second largest, is just 20 kilometers from Suzhou. Shanghai's two international airports, which are about 100 km from Suzhou, both set new operational records last year.

In 2024, Shanghai's Hongqiao and Pudong airports handled 803,000 flights, representing a 15 percent year-on-year increase. Passenger volumes jumped 29 percent to a historic high of over 124 million, with Shanghai Pudong retaining its position as the country's busiest airport.

Editor: Emmi Laine