Jiuquan Suzhou Airport (under construction)

The project was made redundant by a shift in regional strategy. Instead of opening this newly built airport, authorities chose to expand and convert a nearby military airbase into a dual-use civil/military airport. This resulted in the opening of the Jiuquan Jinta Airport (IATA: JQA, ICAO: ZLJQ) in 2017, which now serves the region. The decision to develop the existing airbase was likely more cost-effective and strategically practical, leading to the abandonment of the new Suzhou airport project before it could be commissioned.

The site is a complete but non-operational and unused airport. High-resolution satellite imagery shows a pristine, modern facility with a long runway, taxiways, a multi-gate terminal building, and aprons. However, there are no aircraft, ground service equipment, or any signs of human activity. The infrastructure remains intact but is effectively abandoned and not maintained for operational use.

This airport has no operational history or historical significance in terms of aviation services, as it never handled any flights. Its significance is as a modern 'ghost airport'—a large-scale, fully constructed infrastructure project that was never put into use. It stands as a notable example of the rapid, and sometimes overlapping, infrastructure development in China during the 2010s and the complexities of regional planning.

There are no known official plans or prospects to open this airport for its originally intended purpose. The existence of the nearby and fully operational Jiuquan Jinta Airport (JQA) makes this facility redundant for regional passenger traffic. It is highly unlikely to be commissioned for civil aviation in the foreseeable future. Any potential future for the site would likely involve repurposing it for other uses, such as a general aviation hub, a drone testing facility, a vehicle test track, or industrial development, but no such plans have been publicly announced.