The world's biggest island airport costing £3bn so big it can cope with 80m passengers

China is building a major new airport on an offshore island which could serve more passengers annually than the population of the UK. The 20 square kilometer (7.7 square mile) island offshore island is part of a major expansion to the Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport on the northeast coast.

The first flights from the new expanded airport are expected to take off from 2035, meaning there is still a decade to go until completion. However, the new runways could see an increase in capacity to a whopping 540,000 flights each year. It would see around 80 million passengers travel through the airport each year - more than the entire UK population, which stands around 69 million people. The project is expected to cost around £3.2million ($4.3million).

Li Xiang, chief engineer of Dalian Airport Construction and Development Co., Ltd stressed the project has been engineered amid "complex geographical conditions". In particular, Li stressed there had been difficulties in drilling holes and maintaining quality as a result of its location.

Li has previously said: "The entire project consists of more than 3,000 rock-embedded piles with a diameter of 1.2 - 1.6 meters and a maximum pile length of more than 80 meters, three times that of conventional land airports.

"We are doing this amid complex geological conditions, often with great difficulty in drilling holes, all the while keeping to the tight construction schedule and high-quality requirements for a major international airport."

The airport is located just 34km (21 miles) from the coastal city of Dalian, a popular tourist destination known for its nature, architecture and culture.

The city sits on a peninsula surrounded by water on all three sides. The rapid growth of the area has meant there is no land suitable for a large airport which has led designers to think outside the box.

Visitors to the city will be able to reach the new airport in just an hour by road, making it easily accessible for business and tourists. Land reclamation for the airport began as early as 2011 but the project stalled a few years later when Government approval was requested.

However, the land reclamation was largely completed in 2024 with infrastructure work now underway. The airport is seen as a major development into making the region a major Northeast Asia international shipping center and a regional financial center.