Beijing unveils mega-airport it hopes to open in 2019
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s capital unveiled the “shining example” of its 80-billion-yuan ($12.14 billion) new airport on Monday, tipped to become one of the world’s largest when it opens in October 2019, amid a massive infrastructure drive overseen by President Xi Jinping.
Representatives showed off the sprawling skeleton of “Beijing New Airport,” which is made up of 1.6 million cubic meters of concrete, 52,000 tons of steel and spans a total 47 square kilometers, including runways.
It is expected to serve an initial 45 million passengers a year, with an eventual capacity of 100 million, putting it on par with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“Lined up together there’s roughly five kilometers of gates,” said project spokesman Zhu Wenxin. “It’s a shining example of China’s national production capacity.”
The project, which broke ground in 2014, is one of the region’s largest infrastructure investments under Xi’s rule, which has been plagued by fears of slowing economic growth, offset slightly by a construction spree.
China has sought to boost its profile as both an aviation hub and a manufacturer in recent years. The country’s first homegrown passenger jet, the C919, lifted off on its maiden flight in May, edging into a multibillion-dollar market currently dominated by Boeing Co. and Airbus SE.
Situated 67 km. south of Beijing, the airport technically falls in neighboring Hebei province, though it will eventually constitute its own development zone.
It will relieve pressure on Beijing’s existing international airport, to the northeast of Beijing and currently the world’s second largest by passenger volume, which opened a new terminal worth $3.6b. in 2008 ahead of the Beijing Summer Olympics.
The existing airport will continue to operate major international flights, though a third smaller domestic airport in the city’s south will close in coming years.
Two of China’s three major airlines, China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co., will relocate to the airport on completion, accounting for roughly four-fifths of the new airport’s total traffic.
The airport will be connected to Beijing by a high-speed train with a top speed of 350 km. per hour, as well as an intercity train and a major expressway.
Original plans for the airport were made by French airports operator Aeroports de Paris, though third-party improvements to the original version make the final design “wholly domestic,” Zhu said.
“It’s like a large flower, but it’s made of steel,” a construction worker on the site said.