The construction of a satellite terminal began at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China's financial hub on Tuesday, according to airport authority.
The satellite terminal, composed of two linked satellite halls, will be a complementary part of the airport and share departures, arrivals and transfers with the existing two terminals.
A total of 20.6 billion yuan (about 3.18 billion U.S. dollars) will be invested in the construction, building 83 fixed tunnels and covering an area of 622,000 square meters, the largest of its kind in the world.
Pudong International Airport was built in 1999, and had finished its second-phase expansion project in 2008, with a designed annual passenger throughput of 42 million.
As the primary international airport serving Shanghai and a major aviation hub for Asia, it's passenger throughput hit 60 million by the end of 2015.
The construction of the satellite terminal is part of the third-phase expansion project.
The expansion also includes building supporting facilities in the terminal area and construction of dispatch control centers in order to satisfy increasing aviation.
The satellite terminal is expected to be completed in 2019 and will enable the airport to handle 80 million passengers.
With two terminals, three cargo sections and four runways, Shanghai Pudong International Airport is served by a host of domestic and international airlines, offering direct and connecting flights to all points of the globe.
