BINHAI airport in Tianjin, a port city in northern China, is to build a new runway for test flights of the Airbus A320.
The second runway will be 3,200 meters long and 45 meters wide. The project will be ready for service on May 1 next year, according to the airport authorities.
Construction of a third runway is also planned to meet the needs of test flying A320 planes, handling expected growth in air travel, and acting as a reserve airport to the Capital International Airport in Beijing.
An assembly line for European aircraft maker Airbus A320 planes began construction in May 2007 in Tianjin.
The assembly plant is a joint venture between Airbus and Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Co, a Chinese alliance of China Aviation Industry Corp I, China Aviation Industry Corp II and Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Co.
Airbus holds a 51-percent stake in the Tianjin assembly facility, with the rest held by Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Co.
The assembly line project, with an estimated investment of 8 billion (US$1.04 billion) to 10 billion yuan, includes assembly workshops, power stations and hangars.