With U.S. dollars 60 billion investment, Daxing International Airport will become operational at the end of September 2019, on the eve of China’s 70th birthday. It is set to become world’s largest airport in terms of passenger numbers when it reaches its full capacity – serving 100 million passengers and 880,000 flights by 2040.
Bai Henghong, director of the Beijing Daxing International Airport project command of Beijing Construction Group said that it is the world’s largest integrated transportation hub. The terminal building is also the world’s largest built with seamless steel structure. It boasts the world’s first design of double-deck departure and double-deck arrival platforms.
The airport is expected to serve 72 million passengers and 620,000 flights annually by 2025. In 2040, when it serves 100 million passengers, it will likely surpass world’s busiest airport, Atlanta in the U.S. it in terms of passenger throughput.
The hub has been designed to reduce pressure on the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport. It is also set to support China’s intention of becoming the world’s largest civil aviation market by the mid-2020s.
Daxing International Airport covers the area of 1.4 million sqm and the terminal’s territory is equivalent to 25 football fields. The construction and inspection of the hub, which is located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, was completed on Sunday, June 30, 2019.
The country will see 1.6 billion plane journeys each year from 2037, a billion more than in 2017, as per International Air Transport Association. China’s capital with its 21 million people expects to welcome 170 million passengers in 2025, split between the two airports.
