Construction officially commenced on March 25, 2026, on the Pearl River Delta Hub, formally designated Guangzhou New Airport, a 41.81 billion yuan project in Foshan’s Gaoming District that will become the sixth major airport in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the first significant aviation hub serving the western bank of the Pearl River. The project is designed to handle 30 million passengers annually at initial capacity, directly serving a population of more than 20 million people in cities long underserved by the region’s existing airport cluster.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Groundbreaking date: March 25, 2026, in Gaoming District, Foshan, Guangdong Province
- Official project name: Pearl River Delta Hub (Guangzhou New) Airport
- Total investment: 41.81 billion yuan, approximately US$6.1 billion
- Infrastructure: two widely spaced parallel runways, a 260,000-square-metre terminal building, and 94 aircraft stands
- Design capacity at Phase 1: 30 million passengers per year and 500,000 tonnes of cargo annually
- Long-term capacity target: 60 million passengers and 2.2 million tonnes of cargo by 2050
- Airport classification: ICAO 4E standard
- Projected initial operations: 2028, with annual throughput of 30 million trips targeted by 2035
- The airport will become the sixth major aviation hub in the Greater Bay Area, which recorded combined passenger throughput exceeding 200 million across its existing seven airports in 2024
A New Hub For The Western Pearl River Delta
Construction began formally on March 25, 2026, on the Pearl River Delta Hub Airport in Foshan’s Gaoming District, marking the start of a project that Guangdong authorities have long identified as essential to correcting a structural imbalance in the region’s aviation geography. The site sits at the geographic center of Foshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, and Yunfu, four cities whose combined population of more than 20 million has historically depended on Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport despite the significant travel times involved in reaching it from the western bank of the Pearl River.
The project carries a total investment of 41.81 billion yuan, equivalent to approximately US$6.1 billion. At completion of the initial phase, the airport will operate two widely spaced parallel runways, a terminal building of approximately 260,000 square metres, and 94 aircraft stands. It is designed to process 30 million passengers per year and 500,000 tonnes of cargo annually, with 260,000 aircraft movements planned. By 2050, capacity is projected to scale to 60 million passengers and 2.2 million tonnes of cargo, positions the airport as a long-term pillar of the Greater Bay Area’s aviation strategy.
Filling A Regional Gap
The existing airport network in the Greater Bay Area has long been weighted toward the eastern Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, and Hong Kong International Airport collectively anchor the eastern corridor, all rated to ICAO 4F standard. The western bank, by contrast, has lacked a hub-scale facility. Foshan Shadi Airport, the nearest option for millions of western delta residents, is rated at only ICAO 4C with a passenger capacity of just over one million.
An official with the Guangdong Airport Authority confirmed at the groundbreaking that the new airport is explicitly positioned to serve as a transportation hub for the western portion of the Greater Bay Area, complementing rather than competing with the eastern cluster. Guangdong officials framed the strategy as a shift toward a more balanced multi-node network, designed to tighten links between the region’s manufacturing cities, export zones, innovation centers, and global markets.
Infrastructure And Connectivity
The new airport will be served by multiple high-speed rail connections, including the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway running north to south through the western delta, the Shenzhen-Nanning High-Speed Railway connecting toward Shenzhen and Guangxi, and the Zhuhai-Zhaoqing High-Speed Railway linking Zhuhai, Macau, and Zhaoqing. An integrated transport center and ground transportation hub are incorporated into the terminal design to allow rail check-in and baggage handling on the same floor as rail connections, eliminating the need for separate downtown transfers.
The facility is rated to ICAO 4E standard, capable of accommodating aircraft with wingspans up to 65 metres, including widebody long-haul types, giving the airport the technical infrastructure to eventually handle international traffic at scale.
Regional And Southeast Asian Implications
The Greater Bay Area’s seven existing airports collectively processed more than 200 million passengers in 2024. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport alone handled 83.6 million passengers and 2.44 million tonnes of cargo in the same period, placing it under increasing strain as both domestic and international traffic continue to recover and grow. The new Foshan facility is designed in part to relieve that pressure by absorbing demand from the western delta, freeing Baiyun and Shenzhen Bao’an to focus on trunk routes and international connections.
For Southeast Asian carriers, the project signals a continued expansion of the Pearl River Delta’s capacity to generate and absorb traffic on regional routes. Trip.com data cited at the groundbreaking noted a sharp rise in travel demand for Guangzhou and Zhuhai driven by international visitors from Southeast Asia, a trend the new airport is positioned to accommodate over the medium term. South China Morning Post reported that provincial authorities anticipate the airport will reach its 30 million passenger target by 2035, with initial operations projected to begin in 2028.