The government of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province expects the city's relocated airport to start operations in 2016, Mayor Wang Zhongbing said at a press conference during the ongoing annual session of the provincial legislature.

Preliminary work on the relocation is progressing smoothly, with support from the provincial government, the Guangdong Airport Management Corp and the neighboring city of Maoming, he said.

Zhanjiang authorities also expect a high-speed railway to be extended to Zhanjiang around 2016, Wang said, adding that freeways, which now total 220 kilometers in the city, will spread to every county in Zhanjiang as soon as possible.