On April 22, 2026, China Southern Airlines held a groundbreaking ceremony for Phase I of its Maintenance Area and Cargo Area projects at Urumqi Tianshan International Airport. As key contracted projects under the central government's initiative for industrial support to Xinjiang, the two projects represent a total investment of over 1.6 billion yuan and are expected to be completed and put into operation by 2028. They will significantly enhance the capacity of Urumqi as an international aviation hub.
The projects launched this time represent a key move by China Southern Airlines to implement the Party's governance strategy for Xinjiang in the new era and to serve the development of the core area of the 'Belt and Road' Initiative. Upon completion, the projects will greatly strengthen Xinjiang's civil aviation maintenance capability and logistics distribution functions.
Building the Largest Civil Aviation Maintenance Hangar in Northwest China
The Maintenance Area project covers an area of over 120,000 square meters, with a total investment of 1.264 billion yuan in Phase I. The centerpiece — the hangar — is planned to have a floor area of 65,991.08 square meters, making it the largest single civil aviation hangar in Northwest China. With a span of 220 meters, the hangar can accommodate maintenance operations on one wide-body aircraft and five narrow-body aircraft simultaneously.
Once operational, the project will work in tandem with China Southern Airlines' existing five-bay maintenance hangar in the old terminal area to form an aircraft maintenance center with regional competitive advantages, serving international markets such as Central Asia, West Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Building a 'Three-Network-in-One' Smart Logistics Hub
The Cargo Area project covers an area of nearly 60,000 square meters, with a total investment of 408 million yuan. With strong support from the airport customs, the project will add five types of designated port functions, including inbound meat. By introducing intelligent operation systems, the project will achieve the integration of 'air network, ground network, and warehouse network,' and is expected to increase China Southern Airlines' annual cargo and mail throughput in Xinjiang to over 152,000 tons.
The 31st Maintenance and Spares Support Conference will be held in Haikou on November 25-26, focusing on industrial development and technical exchanges in civil aviation maintenance and spares support.