Renovations will begin tomorrow near the terminals at Hongqiao International Airport to make way for increased traffic and reduce the waiting time to grab a taxi.

When the renovations are finished, which should happen by the end of the year, the airport will have 12 taxi stands near the arrival halls, according to the city's airport authority. Currently, the airport has only three taxi stands.

The stands will no longer be segregated into areas for people taking long trips and those taking short rides as is the current practice, the authority said.

After the renovations, passengers should never have to wait more than 20 minutes to grab a cab. The five-lane road leading to the airport will be expanded to cover 10 lanes, improving traffic shuttling to and from the airport.

A traffic guidance system near the terminals will also be improved.

"Passengers have been complaining about the long lines for taxis at the airport especially in peak seasons," said Jin Dexiong, an official with Hongqiao International Airport. "We hope to add more stands to meet their demand and expand the roads to allow more traffic flow."

Jin said the passenger flow at the Hongqiao International Airport has been rising rapidly in recent years.

Last year, 14.9 million people took off or landed at the airport, an increase of 50 percent from 2003. In the first half of this year, passenger flow topped 8 million people. The Hongqiao airport facilities were designed to handle an annual passenger flow of 9.8 million travelers.

The two-phase renovation however won't affect current traffic. The first phase of work will affect traffic near the B terminal, but taxi stands and roads near the A terminal won't be affected. When the area near the B terminal is finished, work will begin near the A terminal.

(Shanghai Daily September 6, 2005)