Every year, up to 100 million passengers are scheduled to change at the new Beijing airport. After only four years of construction, China has opened the new Daxing International Airport, the world's largest airport in terms of building area.
The mega-airport around 50 kilometers south of the Chinese capital will initially handle 45 million passengers a year and later more than double its capacity. China's state and party leader Xi Jinping has now officially handed over the giant construction.
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Beijing's new airport: "starfish" of superlativesAccording to news agency Reuters, construction costs amounted to $ 63 billion, and a fast train connects the airport to the city center in just 20 minutes. The neighboring regions of Hebei and Tianjin are also expected to benefit from the airport.
"Berlin can learn from Beijing"
Because of its six side arms, the airport is also called "starfish". It was designed by the Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid and her Chinese partners who died in 2016.
Today, more than 100 million passengers are handled via the existing Beijing airport. Its large third terminal (T3) was opened shortly before the 2008 Olympics.
Dozens of international airlines are scheduled to fly into the new airport, including British Airways and Finnair. However, the main customers include China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. Air China should be entitled to ten percent of its capacity.
Chinese media are happy to point out how quickly the new Beijing Airport has been built in comparison to Berlin's breakdown airport BER. The German capital's airport has been under construction for 13 years and is scheduled to open in October 2020 according to the current status. "Berlin can learn from Beijing," it had been called during the construction in media of the People's Republic.
Video: World's largest airport starts trial operation
DPA
For the completion of the new Beijing airport, the Chinese government had apparently also issued a tight schedule. In any case, it has now been completed in time for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state on 1 October.