China: On track for the Future: New international airport in southern Beijing to become key transport hub

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02:29

China is building a new international airport for Beijing in the south of the capital. This facility is expected to ease the burden of Beijing's current international airport, as well as boost transportation and economic development in the southern parts of the city. Ning Hong once again has the story.

It'll be a model of China's modern engineering practices. The first stage of Beijing's new international airport will have four tracks for planes as large as the Airbus A380. The steel structure of the terminal will cover an area the size of 44 football fields. A great challenge for the engineers involved.

LIU BIN, DIRECTOR QUALITY DEPARTMENT OF BEIJING NEW AIRPORT PROJECT "We assemble the steel structure on the ground, before lifting it up using hydraulic power. The biggest structure is over ten thousand square meters in size, and weighs a thousand tons."

The airport will have a capacity of 72 million travelers a year. And the numerous transport options mean it will take less than half an hour to get there from Beijing's city center.

NING HONG BEIJING'S NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT "The biggest challenge for engineers is that there are five kinds of tracks for different transport systems overlapping here. There are tracks for subway and intercity trains."

The high-speed trains will pass the airport in underground tunnels at 300 kilometers an hour. This means there are high standards required for both the construction process, and the eventual transfer efficiency of a transportation hub this complex.

The terminal's shape resembles that of a palm, with a central hall and five lounge corridors. After passengers pass the security checks, it's only 600 meters from the center of the main hall to the farthest boarding gate.

GUO SHUANGCHAO MANAGER, BEIJING NEW AIRPORT PROJECT "From the center of the terminal, you could walk to any boarding gate within eight minutes."

At the tip of each lounge, there will be a garden accessible by travelers. The airport will become a model project for transportation in the integrated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province. The new airport is scheduled to be in operation by the end of 2019. Ning Hong, CGTN, Beijing.