HAIKOU /China/, July 7. /TASS/. The international terminal of the Sanya Phoenix International Airport in South China's Hainan Province will be able to serve up to 3 million passengers annually after its reconstruction. This was reported by the Sanya Daily newspaper.

The Sanya-Hong Kong flight which departed from this terminal on July 1 shows that the terminal is officially operational after the renovation, which began in late July 2022. It was completed six months ahead of schedule.

The volume of total investments in the project amounted to about 200 million yuan ($27.7 million). The work was mainly carried out in the airport's international terminal on an area of about 16,000 square meters.

According to a representative of the city government, the authorities will continue to promote the development of air transportation, will increase the airport's number of international flights, as well as the construction of an international air hub focused on the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the Indian Ocean.

The city of Sanya is among the most popular resort cities in the province. The authorities intend to turn Hainan into an "international tourism and consumption center" by 2025. The Chinese island is often referred to as the "Oriental Hawaii" - the natural scenery, tropical forests, developed network of hotels, combined with the beaches and coastline of more than 1,900 km long attract visitors from the most remote parts of the world.