-
Ezhou Huahu Airport in Hubei ends freighter flight test as it gets set for opening by late June
-
New airport is said to be Asia’s first and the world’s fourth professional cargo hub airport
-
The new hub could reduce transhipment of Chinese exports for processing at Hong Kong airport
The first cargo airport in China that is located in the city of Ezhou, Hubei province, completed on March 19 its freighter flight test in preparation for its opening in three months’ time, according to a Xinhua report carried by China Daily on Sunday (March 20).
With China’s economy regaining strength after growth was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic starting in late 2019, the opening of Ezhou Huahu Airport in Hubei could take away some of Chinese exports that are transhipped in Hong Kong.
Last year, 19.1% of Hong Kong’s total exports to China were transhipment goods destined for processing on the mainland, while 33.1% of Hong Kong’s imports from China were transhipment goods processed there for export, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data show.
Last year, 60.9% of Hong Kong’s re-exports of China origin to other places were produced through outward processing on the mainland. The arrangement was adopted years ago for smoother Customs processing of China’s exports.
The new airport’s trial flight using an air freighter was the first of its kind by a new Chinese airport, the report said. The airport is expected to open to traffic around the end of June this year, the report said.
Xinhua said Ezhou Huahu Airport is also Asia’s first and the world’s fourth professional cargo hub airport. That means the airport is designed and appropriately equipped to handle predominantly cargo rather than passenger traffic.
Passenger throughput of the new airport is designed to reach 1 million by 2025, while its cargo and mail throughput should be hitting 2.45 million tons by then, Xinhua said.
“Equipped with two runway and taxiway systems and a freight transfer center spanning nearly 700,000 square meters, the airport will serve as an air cargo hub and feeder airport for passenger transport,” Xinhua reported.
Its location in central China’s industrial powerhouse positions the new airport to capture high-value, time-sensitive products, in particular pharmaceuticals and electronics goods that multinational companies in Hubei make and export to global markets.
The cargo airport, as well, will be a convenient hub for timely delivery of imported raw material imports that feed the local factories, as Hubei’s hinterland geographical location makes intermodal shipment of goods time-consuming.
Hubei lies 914 kilometers north of Hong Kong, 828km west of Shanghai, and 912 km west of Ningbo.
In 2021, operating revenue of Hubei’s industrial enterprises above designated size grew 19.3% year on year to 4,921.57 billion yuan (US$773.8 billion), the provincial government reported.
Those enterprises achieved a total profit of 318.95 billion yuan, surging 27% y-o-y and 16.5% over the same period in 2019, with an average increase of 7.9% in two years, the Hubei government reported.
Among 41 major sectors, 30 saw profit growth, the report said. The spectacular growth was contributed specifically by computer and electronic products manufacturing, comprehensive utilization of waste resources and iron and steel industry grew strongly, up 219.5%, 170.5% and 166%, respectively.
“Enterprises above designated size” is a statistical term China has used since 1996 to refer to state-owned industries main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more, and to non-state-owned industrial enterprises with annual revenue of 5 million yuan up.
Xinhua did not identify the three leading professional air cargo ports in the world.
Full-year cargo statistics for 2021 have not yet been issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The latest data available showed Hong Kong International Airport unseating Memphis International Airport as the busiest and best air cargo hub as of May 2021, with freight volume of 1.9 million tons as against Memphis’ 1.85 million.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal came in third with a freight volume of 1.75 million tons per year.
