Construction of a new international airport to address a burgeoning travel demand in the Chinese capital city of Beijing will commence 46 kilometers south of Tian'anmen Square in the Daxing district.
Upon completion in 2018, the new transportation hub will be able to service 72 million passengers, thereby alleviating the heavy traffic at Beijing Capital International Airport, which was identified as the world's second-busiest airport in 2013.
The project received the approval of the central government this week, and the National Development and Reform Commission informed the media of an 80-billion-yuan ($13.1 billion) price tag.
The civil aviation administration has committed 18 billion yuan toward the project, while Capital Airports Holding will dedicate 6 billion yuan. Bank loans and private capital will form the remaining sum.
Construction will be handled by a partnership between the state-owned entity Capital Airports Holding and the Northern China Regional Air Traffic Management Bureau--the latter operates under the management of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the China National Aviation Fuel Group.
In addition to the consumer demand that the new airport will address, the project will also contribute toward a greater balance between the development of Beijing's northern and southern regions, and make China more competitive in the global civil aviation industry.
Residents, tourists and business travelers, all of whom contributed to the 100 million outbound trips made by mainland Chinese so far, will all be pleased at the announcement, even though the new airport is still several years away. Incoming passengers from one of the 620,000 annual passenger flights will use a 66-kilometer rapid transit line to travel from the 700,0000-square-meter terminal into the city center in just 30 minutes.