Because we don't already have enough world records, China’s upping the ante with its latest venture up north – the Beijing Daxing International Airport. The mammoth airport began construction in 2014 and is expected to become the world’s biggest airport upon completion, occupying an estimated 1 million sqm in area with 700,000sqm just for the terminal building alone. Construction is slated to be completed by June 30 with its official opening scheduled for September 30.
Currently being built in the southernmost reaches of Beijing near Tianjin and Hebei, it’s hoped Daxing International Airport will serve as the international transport hub for the Jing-Jin-Ji economic zone, with plans to eventually handle 100 million passengers each year. This takes some of the pressure off Beijing’s existing Capital International Airport (BCIA) which is officially the second-busiest airport in the world, coping with 101 million passengers annually. (Harts eld- Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest, for those wondering.)
Its terminal, designed by late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, looks like a star fish, with six ‘tentacles’ reportedly set to house integrated retail, dining and entertainment options which, if it happens, places it already head and shoulders above Hongqiao’s paltry offerings.
