A new airport terminal will open next week in Shanghai amid the city's effort to build a "world-class" traffic hub, municipal authorities said on Thursday.

More than 90 percent of all flights to Hongqiao Airport would be transferred to the newly built No.2 Terminal as of March 16 when its operation was scheduled to begin, said Shen Xiaosu, deputy director of Shanghai's Urban, Rural Development and Traffic Committee.

The 360,000 square meter terminal with a new runway has 45 plane parking bays and an annual transport capacity of 40 million people, he said.

The terminal is part of the 26-square-kilometer Hongqiao traffic hub, which includes a railway station and a long-distance bus terminal, Shen added.

The railway station and bus terminal are expected to open in July.

Once completed, the hub's traffic volume was expected to reach 1.1 million people a day, Shen said.

The hub is a key support project for Shanghai Expo and would play an important role in promoting the economic development of Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta and China in general, Shen added.

Editor: yan