New airport in Beijing expected to open in late September

Beijing Daxing International Airport. [Photo/ADP Ingenierie & Zaha Hadid Architects]

Beijing Daxing International Airport, an 80 billion yuan ($11.6 billion) construction project that should improve international communication and boost the local economy, is expected to open by Sept 30, a senior official announced on Thursday.

Eighty percent of the interior construction has been completed and all of the external construction has been finished, according to the new Beijing airport's office. The water supply pipeline network and transformer substations for electricity are ready.

The natural gas pipeline is being built and will soon be put into use, said Cui Xiaohao, deputy head of the Beijing Commission of Development and Reform and deputy director of the airport office.