Construction for the Phase 4 project of Pudong International Airport will start this year, Mayor Ying Yong said at the opening of the annual session of Shanghai People’s Congress yesterday.

The Phase 3 project, which included the satellite terminal covering 620,000 square meters, was completed last year.

“Shanghai will serve as a hub for international container transportation and an aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific region,” Ying said.

As part of efforts to set up a cargo collection and distribution system for the modern shipping industry, the government will give priority to sea-rail intermodal transportation and trans-shipment at sea by pushing forward the construction of a designated railway at Waigaoqiao Port and inland waterways like Dalu Canal, Ying added.

“An international shipping center capable of allocating global shipping resources will be formed,” he said.

Ying also laid out other key transportation infrastructure projects for this year.

Construction for the Pudong Comprehensive Transportation Hub will kick off this year, the mayor revealed.

Work on Phase 2 of Metro Lines 10, Line 15 and sections of Metro Line 18 will be finished this year, according to the mayor. The construction of another 172 kilometers of Metro lines, including one connecting the Hongqiao and Pudong transportation hubs, Metro Line Chongming and Line 14, will be accelerated.

The government will also start expansion of the S4 Expressway, which links Xinzhuang to the city’s border with Zhejiang Province in Jinshan District, and accelerate construction of key infrastructure such as the S3 Expressway, Yanjiang Corridor, Beiheng Passageway and the Shanghai section of Shanghai-Nantong Railway, Ying said.