What would become the world's largest single-terminal airport, the Beijing Daxing International Airport in China is now reportedly nearly completed.
According to Chinese state media report, main construction on the starfish-shaped mega-airport was apparently completed over the weekend. The facility itself is apparently now entering into its final preparations and is on schedule for its grand opening this September.
The mega-airport, which was designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, will be opening in time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China on the first of October. The futuristic structure is estimated to have cost around $17.47 billion.
Despite its massive scale, spanning over 7.5 million square feet, the facility is designed to keep walking at a minimum.
The mega structure features seven runways with a capacity to handle more than 45 million passengers by 2021 and around 72 million when it becomes fully operational by 2025. According to the director of the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission's investment planning unit, Yuan Hongwei, the airport is expected to accommodate more than 880,000 flights and over 100 million passengers per year.
At that capacity, the Beijing Daxing International Airport will become one of the busiest airports in the worlds. The Chinese airport would beat the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is currently the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic.
The US airport currently has a capacity of more than 100 million passengers a year, but it does this with two terminals as opposed to there being just one.
China's North China Air Traffic Management Bureau also revealed that work on the integrated control terminal at the Daxing airport has been completed.
The terminal will become the center of all air traffic control activities for the Daxing airport and other existing airports in Beijing and Tianjin. The control will then be extended to other airports as well, including those located in Zhengding and Hebei.
The Beijing Daxing International Airport will be the center of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei airport cluster, essentially making it the transport hub for northern China. Intercity and various high-speed rail services, along with three subway lines, will have connecting routes going to and from the new airport.
The terminal is located just 46 kilometers south of Beijing and 44 kilometers from Xiongan's New Area economic zone.
China also plans to put up a 150 square kilometer economic zone around the airport, which will become home to various industries such as airport services, logistics, medical care, and other facilities. Tests for the airport's various equipment and facilities is scheduled to take place this month under the country's aviation authority.
Major Chinese airlines have also announced plans to move some of their routes to the new airport when it officially opens.
