Passengers waiting to board overseas-bound flights at Shenzhen International Airport will stand by in a newly built hall beginning Dec. 13.

The present international hall inside Terminal B will be closed by Dec. 12's midnight, sources from the airport said on Dec. 9.

Helicopter flights between Shenzhen and Macau, and jet flights from Shenzhen to Taiwan beginning Dec. 13 will also use the new hall.

Volunteers will be on hand at Terminal B to help passengers to shuttle buses going to the new hall, Zheng Wei, the public relations manager of the airport, said.

The new hall, which is located to the north of Terminal A, has 26 counters and four boarding gates. The 600-seat building is designed to handle 1.5 million passengers a year.

Coffee shops, stores, currency exchange service and phone booths can be found in the new hall.

The Shenzhen airport handled 720,600 international passengers last year, up 51 percent compared to the previous year.

Nearly 10 airlines operate routes to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, the United States and Canada.

In addition, Sky Shuttle Helicopters, a joint venture of AgustaWestland and China Aviation Industry Corp., operate five helicopter routes between Shenzhen and Macau.