The expansion project of the Beijing Capital International Airport
(BCIA) passed a final inspection by the Civil Aviation
Administration of China (CAAC) on Tuesday, marking the successful
end of the work that started three years and nine months ago.
The project, which cost 27 billion yuan (3.65 billion U.S.
dollars), is also the first officially accepted large construction
project for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games that start next
August.
A spokesman for the CAAC said the completion of the project has
cleared the way for the planned operation of the new airport tower
in February.
The project is aimed at increasing the throughput capacity at
Beijing airport in 2015, when it would be 76 million passengers,
1.8 million tons of cargo and more than 500,000 aircraft movements
a year.
The expansion covers 1,467 hectares, or 1.6 times the former
space. A third runway with a length of 3,800 meters has been built
in the eastern part of the airport, which can be used for jumbo
jets such as the A380. It also added 125 plane parking lots to the
airport.
The project includes the new No. 3 air terminal building, which
is the largest in the world with a floor space of 986,000 square
meters, as well as affiliated buildings such as a car park and
communications center, a new cargo zone, and zones for special
planes and private planes.
At present, BCIA is set up to handle 35 million passengers
annually. But as of Dec. 5, it had already served more than 50
million passengers.
the metro interchange station in the No. 3
air terminal building
(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2007)
