HAIKOU, October 1. /TASS/. The Hainan authorities will complete construction of a new international duty free shopping center in Haikou early next year, and it will be operational in June, reported www.hinews.cn.

The installation of the main structure is completed, and the floor slabs have also been laid. Construction of the roof and the peripheral glass curtain wall is underway. The total area of ​​the complex will reach 930,000 square meters. It will house not only duty free and tax free shops, but also offices. 

A pilot program for the development of a chain of duty free stores in the Chinese province of Hainan was launched by the Chinese government in 2011. Since July 1, 2020, the island's authorities have increased personal quota from 30,000 to 100,000 yuan (from $ 4,200 to $ 14,200) for purchases in the province's duty free shops. The list of duty free goods has also been expanded from 38 to 45 positions.

The authorities see the program as an important part of the project to build a free trade port on Hainan. Sales in Hainan's duty free shops in the first six months of 2021 amounted to 26.76 billion yuan (about $ 4.1 billion), which is 257.2% higher than in January-June 2020.

In 2021, two new duty free stores were also opened in Haikou. Prior to that, there were seven stores on the island: two of them are located in the administrative center of the province, Haikou, the rest — in Sanya in the south and in the coastal town of Boao in the Qionghai region in the northeast of the island.