China set to construct large airport in Beijing

BEIJING - Reuters

Air China planes are seen on the tarmac at Beijing’s International Airport. The city’s two existing airports have reached their maximum capacities, according to officials. REUTERS photo

China’s capital Beijing will begin construction this year of an airport that is likely to replace Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States as the world’s busiest, local media said yesterday.

The online edition of Caijing magazine put the cost at 30.2 billion yuan ($4.80 billion). It did not say how it would be funded.

With nine runways, the new airport will handle more than 130 million passengers and 5.5 million tons of cargo annually, China Radio International said.

The airport, yet to be named, will cover an area of 26. 8 million square meters, the online edition of Beijing Youth Daily said, quoting an unidentified airline executive.

Located in Daxing, 46 kilometers south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing’s political centre, construction is due to be completed in October 2017. Beijing’s two existing airports have reached their maximum handling capacities.