Chinese authorities are slated to begin construction on Beijing’s newest airport later this year.
State-owned China Radio International said that the yet-to-be-named airport will handle 5.5-million tonnes of freight annually when it opens its doors in October 2017.
Beijing’s new airport will also feature nine runways and welcome more than 130-million passengers a year. According to the radio station, such a volume will eclipse Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as the busiest passenger airport in the world.
The airport will be located in rural Daxing and span 6 620-acres. In an online report, Beijing-based economic magazine Caijing estimated the cost of the new airport at US$4.8-billion.
Beijing is currently home to Beijing Capital International Airport – which currently only just trails Hartsfield-Jackson - and China United Airlines hub Beijing Nanyuan Airport. The latter airport will close once the new airport in Daxing commences operations.
