Construction of a new runway at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will commence early next year, bringing the airport in southern China a step closer to becoming an international aviation hub, according to a China Daily report.

The runway, the third at the airport, is scheduled to be ready in 2010, when Guangdong’s provincial capital will hold the 16th Asian Games. Its nearest rival Hong Kong International Airport only has two runways.

With the runway’s completion, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will be able to handle more than 350,000 aircraft annually and 2 million tonnes of cargo. The airport, according to the plan, will be able to handle more than 3 million tonnes of cargo annually by 2015. By 2020, those fi gures will go up to 75 million and 4 million tonnes.