NANNING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The city of Yulin in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has started to build a civilian airport.

The airport, which will cost about 1.4 billion yuan (215 million U.S. dollars) in total, will be finished by the end of 2018, Yulin authorities said on Sunday.

The airport is designed to accommodate 740,000 passengers and 5,000 tons of goods a year in 2025.

Yulin is a large city with a strong economy, and the airport will help regional economic growth, an official with the Yulin government said.