The Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country's civil aviation watchdog, has recently approved plans to build an airport economic zone in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province.

The Jiaodong Airport Economic Demonstration Zone is expected to help the city develop an industrial cluster, which would feature coordinated urban and industrial development. It will also establish a regional aviation hub and build a modern smart town based on the Jiaodong International Airport currently under construction. This is according to the document of approval jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Civil Aviation Administration of China in October.

"The new Qingdao airport currently under construction will gather China's high-tech achievements and show them to the world through an airline network reaching around the globe," said Xin Tianhe, general manager of operations control at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, at the 2016 Airport Cities World Conference & Exhibition.

At the same time, the airport will promote Qingdaostyle service to the world to aid in the development of the city.

The new Qingdao airport will be a key position in the region. It will play an important role in pushing forward the development of the airport economic zone and aviation industry zone.

The economic zone will cover an area of 149 square kilometers, according to the document.

The zone has unique geographic advantages, said Bi Weizhun, deputy mayor of Jiaozhou and deputy chief overseeing construction of the economic zone. Jiaodong International Airport will be located in the core economic region of the Shandong Peninsula. This will make it a pivotal transportation hub linking not only major coastal cities in the province but also the Bohai Economic Rim, the Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Japan and South Korea, he said.

After the airport begins operation in 2019, the zone's infrastructure will further improve and its public service system will take shape, Bi said. The zone is forecast to have a population of 200,000, he added.

(China Daily 11/17/2016 page12)