Beijing new airport to test run in Oct. 2019

BEIJING -- Beijing's new international airport will start test operation in October 2019, local officials said.

Engineering projects will be finished in July 2019 and the test operation will start three months later, said contractor Beijing Construction Engineering Group.

The airport, located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, is designed to take pressure off the over-crowded Beijing Capital International Airport located in the northeastern suburbs. It is located on the border between Daxing district and Langfang, a city in Hebei province.

"Daxing district will prioritize the construction of the airport and the airport economic zone," said Wang Youguo, acting head of the district government.

Airport terminal buildings, covering an area of 313,000 square meters, will consist of a centerpiece and five arms resembling a phoenix spreading out its wings.

It will have four runways and accommodate 620,000 flights per year. It will be able to handle up to 100 million passengers and 4 million tons of cargo each year in the long run.

The airport is 67 km from the current Beijing Capital International Airport. China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines will be the main carriers for the airport.