As a core component of the airport's Phase IV expansion and renovation project, the runway overlay project on the existing runway of Xishuangbanna Airport has overcome numerous difficulties since its launch in 2023 and successfully completed the runway pavement closure in mid-March, marking a key step for Xishuangbanna Airport toward becoming a 4E-class hub airport.

Site Overview

As a major project in Yunnan Province, the Phase IV expansion and renovation project of Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport is a major strategic initiative by the provincial, municipal, and prefectural governments to promote port-industry-city integrated development and improve the comprehensive transportation system.

The Phase IV expansion and renovation project is designed to meet the target of 12.5 million passenger throughput and 96,300 aircraft movements by 2030. The main construction content includes upgrading the airfield area classification index and extending the runway 450 meters southward, bringing the total runway length of the airport to 2,850 meters. At the same time, a new rapid exit taxiway, two end connecting taxiways, and two side taxiways will be built, and overlay treatment will be carried out on the existing runway and taxiways.

Faced with the contradiction between the surge in airport flight volume and insufficient hardware facilities, as well as the dual pressure of non-stop construction and safe operation, the project team adopted "four preventions and four controls" as its core management concept—preventing FOD generation, preventing intrusion incidents, preventing pipeline network damage, and preventing equipment overheight; controlling construction organization, controlling construction techniques, controlling concealed works, and controlling personnel performance. By establishing a "runway overlay safety task force" and a "human-machine collaboration" management system, the project achieved the "double zero" goal of zero safety accidents and zero flight delays during construction.

A Tough Battle for Millimeter Precision

The construction team adopted a strategy of "zoning and sectioning, staggered peak advancement," assembling more than 120 builders and nearly 100 pieces of equipment during the early morning window period each day when flights were suspended for rush work. The daily early morning construction window was less than 5 hours, so construction progress had to be strictly controlled, and each construction step—milling, paving, and compaction—had to be closely linked with no room for error, placing very high demands on the stability and reliability of the equipment.

After rigorous planning and discussion, the contractor adopted a complete set of Wirtgen Group road equipment as the core construction force, including 7 Wirtgen milling machines, 7 Vögele pavers, and 11 Hamm rollers working in coordinated operation.

During several months of construction, these machines performed stably and lived up to expectations, safeguarding construction progress and quality. Through real-time monitoring of key parameters such as milling depth and asphalt temperature, the project achieved precise error control within ±2 millimeters.

The first step in pavement construction was to mill the original surface layer of the existing runway, removing the damaged old surface layer to create a good flatness foundation for subsequent paving and compaction operations. The project required milling 118,000 square meters of the full 2,850-meter runway before overlay paving.

During construction, such a large operating area still had to be completed in a very limited construction window each day, and the milling process was undertaken by 7 large Wirtgen milling machines. The W 205 and W 215 models, with a milling width of 2 meters and a maximum milling depth of up to 33 centimeters, consistently demonstrated their customary high reliability and outstanding performance.

The time-tested Wirtgen LEVEL PRO PLUS leveling system is integrated with the machine control system, making operation simple and intuitive and achieving millimeter-level flatness control, laying a high-flatness foundation for the subsequent paving and compaction steps.

Full-Width Paving, the Vögele-Hamm Combination Shines Again

The runway pavement required overlay with SMA-13 high-strength asphalt concrete, and 36,000 square meters of AC-13 asphalt paving for the runway shoulders also had to be completed. The materials used included both conventional asphalt concrete and modified asphalt materials with stricter requirements for the paving and compaction temperature range, while the runway after overlay renovation needed to be upgraded to 4E-class takeoff and landing standards. Therefore, higher requirements were placed on the performance of the new surface layer, including flatness and density, which both had to meet strict design specifications.

To this end, the contractor used 6 "-3" series Vögele pavers to cover the full width of the runway, completing paving in a single pass. Immediately following the pavers, 11 Hamm tandem steel-wheel rollers quickly followed up, forming a dense and smooth new surface layer through initial compaction, secondary compaction, and final compaction processes.

For the parallel taxiway surface, 5 Vögele pavers were used for echelon side-by-side paving operations, with 8 Hamm rollers providing efficient compaction. The multi-machine "hot-to-hot" paving process produced a continuous, seamless surface layer across the full section width.

Within a construction window of less than 5 hours per day, the project team continuously optimized construction organization and process crossover. With strong support, the Wirtgen Group equipment team was able to fully demonstrate its capabilities, and construction efficiency gradually increased from 5,000 square meters on the first day to a single-day peak of 12,600 square meters.

The successful completion of this airport pavement overlay project was both a test for the contractor and an inspection of the performance and stability of the construction equipment. Wirtgen Group road construction equipment lived up to its trust, delivering a satisfactory result with stable construction performance and high quality.

The completion of the runway overlay project not only extends the pavement service life to 15 years but also upgrades the runway takeoff and landing standard from 4D to 4E, enabling the operation of large aircraft such as the Airbus A380. As an important aviation hub on the southbound corridor of the "Belt and Road," the renewed Xishuangbanna Airport is now, with the posture of a world-class aviation port, building an aerial thoroughfare for regional opening and development to spread its wings and soar.