New Nanchang cargo terminal to boost China’s Belt and Road initiative

Last week, Nanchang Airport (KHN), located in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province, announced the construction of its new international cargo station, which will support the airport’s goal to increase its cargo throughput capacity to 200,000 tonnes by 2020. Construction of the cargo terminal will also contribute to China’s Belt and Road initiative and nationwide infrastructure development. 

KHN’s new international cargo terminal is being built on approximately 82,670 square meters of land situated in the airport’s cargo area. The terminal itself will be 36,574 square meters comprised of six buildings, including areas for freight, specialized cargo, management, customer service and customs.  

The airport conducted a feasibility study for the project last May and began work in March of this year. Airport authorities told the Civil Aviation Administration of China that construction of the cargo station is planned to take six months and that the project will be completed by the end of August this year. 

KHN is an important air cargo base in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt – that encompasses Shanghai municipality, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou and Zhejiang provinces – and will support the balanced economic development of that area. The development of this cargo terminal is meant not only to support the individual airport’s cargo throughput numbers, but also contribute to efforts by the Chinese government to build up its air cargo infrastructure nationwide as part of the country’s larger “Belt and Road” initiative. 

Beyond KHN, other Chinese airports are also expanding their infrastructure, including Wuxi (WUX) and Zhuhai (ZUH). Zhengzhou (CGO) also recently announced its plans to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) later this month.