China has announced it will begin building its first airport in Antarctica in November as a global scramble over the world’s polar regions intensifies.

Chinese researchers have begun surveying work in preparation for the airport which will be capable of servicing China’s Snow Eagle 601, a small polar aircraft, according to the Keji Daily, a newspaper run by China’s ministry of science and technology.

“As a major Antarctic scientific research country, China must ensure the logistical support capability of its own Antarctic activities. For this reason, the construction of the new airport is of great significance…and provides support to China’s airspace management in Antarctica,” wrote the Keji Daily. “In the future, [the airport] will provide guarantees for large-scale aircraft and an air fleet.”