Tsingshan Holding Group, a leading private stainless steel producer headquartered in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, completed the building of an airport in central Sulawesi province of Indonesia in January after one year's construction.

The airport, with an area of 1.24 square kilometers and 1890-meter-long runway, is located in the Tsingshan Industrial Park in the Southeast Asian country, home to the group's Indonesian plant. Major facilities, including the runway, the apron and the terminal building, have been constructed and put into trial operation.

With direct flights to Jakarta, the country's capital city and Kendari, capital of Sulawesi, the new privately-owned airport is expected to make it easier for employees and merchants to reach the industrial park.

"Usually, it takes us eight hours by long-distance bus or five hours by ship to get to Kendari airport where we can fly to China via Jakarta. The whole journey takes at least two days. However, with the operation of our own airport, the time will be shortened to 24 hours," said a staff member at Tsingshan's Indonesian branch.

Sulawesi was once a remote island with poor connections to other regions. In October 2013, China and Indonesia signed a cooperation agreement to build an industrial park in the province with Tsingshan Group as the main participant. After five years of development, the place has been transformed into a modern industrial cluster featuring industries related to nickel mining and metal smelting.

A plane takes off at the newly built airport in Sulawesi province of Indonesia on Jan 12. [Photo/WeChat account: foreign_steel]