Pudong Airport Phase IV Expansion: T3 International Main Building Steel Structure Topped Out

The main international hall of Shanghai Pudong International Airport’s new Terminal 3 has reached its structural steel capping milestone following a lifting operation involving a roof covering with an area equal to 60 standard basketball courts, finance.eastmoney.com reported.

Steel Roof Capping at Pudong Airport Terminal 3

Workers completed the all-element lifting operation for the international main building’s steel roof on October 13, securing the structural steel framework for the project’s signature bird-in-flight design. The structure’s total steel consumption reaches 202,000 tons—five times the steel used in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, according to project data. The lift covered 25,000 square meters and required a 16-meter vertical climb to the height of a five-story building.

Digital Technologies and Installation Logistics

Construction teams assembled five separate systems at ground level prior to the lift: the steel skeleton, metal roofing, skylights, maintenance corridors, and primary mechanical and electrical pipes. Teams utilized 39 lifting points powered by 41 smart hydraulic jacks and a cluster synchronization control system to execute the millimeter-level elevation. The project deployed a self-developed digital monitoring platform alongside mixed-reality hoisting systems and three-dimensional laser scanning to simulate the installation in a virtual environment beforehand.

Phased Construction and 2030 Capacity Targets

The wider Phase 4 expansion project at Pudong Airport commenced in January 2022, encompassing six primary initiatives including the T3 terminal area, flight zones, and a passenger transit system. Construction on the T3 terminal proper officially began on November 20, 2024. Following the placement of the final “bird wing” steel casting joint on July 23, the core support system for the terminal’s architectural form is largely complete. The entire Phase 4 expansion is scheduled to reach completion and enter operational readiness by the end of 2028, designed to support an annual passenger throughput of 130 million by 2030.