China Southern Airlines has begun construction on its new base in Shenzhen. The city in South China's Guangdong Province borders the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, making the region ideal for onward ground transportation options.A ceremony was held on Friday, May 19th, 2023, to celebrate the beginning of construction on the site. Total investment in the project is forecasted to reach 2.4 billion yuan ($341 million) over the next five years.
What will the new facility include?
This new China Southern Airlines base will have buildings dedicated to flight operation, aircraft maintenance, cargo transportation, and a logistics center. The 338,000 square meter space will also feature an international cargo terminal. Workshops for flight and maintenance technological innovations will be hosted at the new center, which will also feature a laboratory to develop safety procedures for the passenger cabin emergency response.
The project's first stage is a 210,000-square-meter space with a price tag estimated to reach 1.6 billion yuan ($228 million). This initial phase is expected to complete by 2028.
Why Shenzhen for a new base?
China Southern has long had Shenzhen as a focus city and based two brand-new Airbus A350s at the Chinese airport at the end of 2022 to meet demand. The carrier's market share surpassed 33% last year at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX). China Southern currently flies from the airport to major international and domestic locations, including Dubai, Hanoi, and Jakarta. There are even reportedly plans to resume flights from Shenzhen to Sydney and potentially Moscow flights in June.
Shenzhen's current international airport serves the greater bay area and provides regional land, air, and sea connections. The Shenzhen Airport Ferry Terminal was one of the first to restore ferry service to downtown Hong Kong and Macau at the beginning of this year. Land transportation options include easy access to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen highway, Jihe Expressway, and National Road 107, which links the airport to Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai.
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Shenzhen Airport has done quite well for itself in terms of international recognition. Skytrax awarded the facility the global "Five Star Airport" certification for two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022. Most recently, the airport won an award of "World's Most Improved Airport" from the same accrediting body. In addition to its newly announced base, China Southern also operates from bases at both Beijing Daxing Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
China Southern is not the only carrier to invest in Shenzhen recently. Lion Air of Indonesia, Cambodia Airways, and Cebu Pacific from the Philippines have all restored and increased international passenger routes there this year. The airport's route network reaches 20 cities in 17 countries world wide and has several new links on the horizon, including a new Hainan Airlines link to Brussels.
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