A team of Shanghai government agencies has approved the first business aviation center on the Chinese mainland to start official operations at the city's Hongqiao International Airport.

The Shanghai Municipal Office of Port Service, Shanghai Customs and Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau checked the center on Monday for the last round of checks before recommending that it could start operations.

The 80-million-yuan (US$11.76 million) Hongqiao Airport Business Aviation Center will provide a full range of services for privately owned aircraft, including leasing, hanger space and maintenance. It will have conference rooms for business executives to hold meetings within minutes of touching down at the airport.

Trial operations at the center began in March ahead of the World Expo which opened on May 1. About 16.8 million visitors are expected to arrive by air at the city's two airports to visit the Expo which ends on October 31. The center also has a 6,000-square-meter hangar and can handle 6,000 business aircraft annually.

About 2,000 business aircraft take off or land each year at the city's two airports. The number is set to rise 10 to 15 percent in the near future, the Shanghai Airport Authority said.

There are now nearly 50 business aircraft on the mainland, triple the number five years ago.