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Officials say the $12 billion Daxing airport could one day serve more than 100 million passengers per year, approaching the traffic volumes of the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.[br][br][br]
[br][br]Before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Chinese capital unveiled a new airport terminal that covered about 200 football fields in floor space, boasted a capacity of 50 million passengers a year, and cost $4 billion.[br][br]That's modest compared to what Beijing is opening next.[br][br]Crews are putting the final touches on what will be one of the world's largest and busiest airports. Designed by the late British architect Zaha Hadid, the phoenix-shaped Beijing Daxing International Airport is due to open in September as the latest major Chinese project even as the country's economy cools.[br][br]Officials say the $12 billion Daxing airport could one day serve more than 100 million passengers per year, approaching the traffic volumes of the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.[br][br]Rising out of farmland about 30 miles south of central Beijing, the new transport hub is a testament to the growth in civil aviation in China - which is expected to overtake the United States as the largest market in the early- or mid-2020s - and the government's vision to develop its industrial north through infrastructure investment.[br][br]The airport construction started in 2014 before China's economy began to slow. But it fits into the priorities of President Xi Jinping, whose government continues to spend heavily on infrastructure and transportation as key drivers of development.[br][br]The country invested $120 billion and $12 billion in railways and civil aviation, respectively, in 2018, according to transportation authorities.[br]The capital's main airport now, Beijing Capital International Airport northeast of the city, has been straining at maximum capacity for years and plagued by delays, said Yi Wei, deputy manager of the Daxing airport's planning department.[br][br]"It's heavily overloaded," Yi said. "We estimate, basically, that about 400 flights every day are held up because of air traffic control approval."[br][br]"The general contracting is done by ourselves. We didn't corporate with international companies," said project manager Li Jianhua. "Most of the equipment is domestically made. Most of the materials are domestically made."[br][br]Nicknamed "the Starfish" by Chinese media, the new airport will have five concourses spiraling out of the primary hall. Five traditional Chinese gardens will be built at the edge of each line where passengers can wait for their flights.[br][br][br][br][br]Thanks for reading!{:16_1:}[br] |
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发表于 2019-04-14 18:19:05
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