The Incheon International Airport Corporation broke ground Thursday on a fourth runway and plans to expand facilities by 2023.

The state-controlled airport operator said it will inject four-point-two trillion won into the fourth phase of its five-step expansion project to be completed by 2030, which included opening of a second terminal earlier this year.

The construction of the new runway and expansions of the second terminal, mooring and commuting facilities are set to be finished in 2023, permitting the number of flights operating each hour at Incheon Airport to increase from the current 90 to 100.

Incheon Airport opened in 2001 and currently handles 72 million travelers a year.

That is expected to grow to 100 million after 2023, putting it in third place after Dubai and Amsterdam's international airports.