[SH Transit] Pudong T3 Takes Shape Ahead of Planned 2028 Opening

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Shanghai Pudong International Airport began lifting a roof weighing about 6,000 metric tons into place at its new Terminal 3 on Tuesday, advancing construction of a terminal planned to be ready for use in 2028.

The operation involves the terminal's international main building. Once the lift is complete, that building's steel structure will be topped out, the Shanghai Airport Authority said. Further roofing, exterior cladding and interior work will follow.

For passengers, the bigger change will be the additional space and capacity at an airport already handling more travelers than it was designed for.

Room to grow

T3 is the centerpiece of Pudong's fourth-phase expansion, which began in January 2022. It sits south of Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and the satellite terminal.

Designed to handle 50 million passengers annually, T3 will bring the airport's total planned capacity to 130 million a year.

Pudong handled nearly 85 million passengers in 2025, compared with a designed capacity of 80 million, according to figures the airport operator presented at a July briefing.

T3's layout calls for separate domestic and international buildings linked by a central transport hub. Plans include shorter walking distances between connecting flights and automated baggage handling.

Built at ground level

The roof section being lifted covers 25,000 square meters, roughly the area of 60 basketball courts, and is to be raised 16 meters.

Much of the assembly was done on the ground. Workers combined the steel frame, metal roofing, skylights, maintenance walkways and major service pipes before the lift, rather than installing each system separately at height.

Hydraulic jacks raise the assembled structure together, while sensors monitor its movement and the forces acting on it.

The airport authority said the approach reduces work carried out high above the ground and makes it easier to control the welding, installation, and sealing quality.

Large sections of the steel framework will remain exposed rather than hidden behind decorative coverings. Besides using fewer finishing materials, the design leaves welds and connections accessible for inspection, the authority said.