100,000 sqm Facility Planned for Beijing Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone

China Southern Airlines has signed an entry agreement with the Beijing Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone for a major new expansion in the nation’s bustling capital airport complex.

Last September, China Southern Airlines opened business in Terminal One at Beijing Capital International Airport, becoming the first airline to own and operate its own exclusive terminal in the nation’s capital.

By the end of 2007, one of five Airbus A380 aircraft that China Southern will operate will be based in Beijing.

“China’s largest airline is pleased to sign the preliminary documentation which will open the way for the establishment of our new Beijing Branch in Area B of the Industrial Zone,” said Mr. Li Kun, COO, China Southern Airlines. It is anticipated that China Southern will be using part of the new facility as a secure bonded cargo area.

The new Beijing Branch is expected to be China Southern’s largest base in Northern China and the airline plans to pour more than RMB 1 Billion into the new project which will span 100,000 sqm.

The Beijing Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone has absorbed nearly $2 Billion (US) dollars in investment over the past decade. According to Mr. Li Yousheng, director of the zone's management committee, some 284 Chinese and foreign enterprises had entered the zone by the end of 2002. Sixty multinationals, including 20 of the world's top 500 multinational corporations, are among the enterprises which have set up branches in the zone.

Located one kilometer west of Beijing’s Capital Airport, the 7.8-square-kilometer industrial zone has developed into a high-tech industrial zone of the electronic and telecommunications industries and boasting storage and bonded warehousing, and export-oriented businesses.

See other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, China Southern Airlines, Airports, Beijing