Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has recently inaugurated its newly built Terminal 3 (T3) and a fifth runway, marking the completion of the third phase of the airport expansion project. This phase, which took five years to complete, is now fully operational.
The new Terminal 3 and the fifth runway of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport officially begin operation. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
With the addition of T3, the airport has entered a new era of operations, now boasting five runways, two control towers, and three terminals.
The third phase of the expansion project includes the T3 Terminal, the Transportation Center Complex in front of T3, and the air traffic control tower and work area, all constructed by subsidiaries of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
The project introduced several pioneering engineering technologies in China. For the nation’s largest stainless-steel continuous color-coated welded roofing system, the project team developed a weld management program to ensure precise control of 350,000 weld seams—achieving 100 percent on-site inspection, 100 percent acceptance verification, and 100 percent data archiving. The introduction of continuous automatic welding machines enabled seamless welding across 311,900 square meters of roofing.
The new Terminal 3 and the fifth runway of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport officially begin operation. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
To address the challenge of accurately installing 160,000 components of the T3 terminal's steel grid, the project team developed an intelligent sorting platform based on active chips. Each steel rod was embedded with a chip, allowing for full-process traceability in production, coding, transportation, and installation, significantly improving assembly efficiency.
The south façade of the T3 terminal features a cable-supported curtain wall system—the first in China to be anchored directly to a roof grid structure. With each cable bearing a pre-tension load of up to 100 tons and extending 4,300 meters in length, the team developed a comprehensive tensioning and monitoring plan. By integrating “smart cables” with built-in sensors, the curtain wall system enables real-time structural health monitoring, ensuring the overall safety of the façade.
The new Terminal 3 and the fifth runway of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport officially begin operation. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
