Located about 100 kilometers from Baiyun International Airport, the new facility will feature two long-distance parallel runways, a terminal building covering about 260,000 square meters, 94 aircraft parking positions and related support infrastructure.

　　It is designed to handle more than 30 million passengers annually, along with 500,000 metric tons of cargo and mail, and 260,000 aircraft movements.

　　By 2050, annual passenger throughput is expected to exceed 60 million, positioning the airport as a key civil aviation hub for the western Greater Bay Area and strengthening Guangzhou"s role as an international aviation center.

　　Foshan, a prefecture-level city bordering Guangzhou, is also near Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao. Together with Guangzhou, it forms one of the three major economic poles of the Greater Bay Area.

　　Local authorities say deeper integration into the Guangzhou metropolitan area is a priority for Foshan. High-speed railways and expressways will connect to the new airport, accelerating integration between the two cities, Ling said.

　　Huang Kunming, Party secretary of Guangdong province, announced the start of construction at a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday.

　　Official data shows that passenger throughput across the Greater Bay Area"s seven airports reached 237 million in 2025, while cargo and mail throughput totaled 9.72 million tons, ranking the cluster among the world"s leading aviation hubs.

　　Airports Council International projects that air passenger demand in the Greater Bay Area will reach 420 million by 2035.

　　zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn