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Beijing Opens World's Largest Air Terminal
NDTV ^ | January 5, 2008 | Indo-Asian News Service

Posted on 01/06/2008 11:02:58 AM PST by JACKRUSSELL

(Beijing) -- A dragon is rising in the Olympic city of Beijing as the world's largest airport terminal is about to open for business at the end of February.

"Everything's going fine and the building will be opened according to plan," an airport spokesperson said. From the air, the 3.5-km-long terminal looks like a giant sleeping dragon lying outside the gates of the Chinese capital.

The dragon shape with its characteristic spiky ridges on the golden brown roof was designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster.

The extension will make Beijing airport one of the five largest airports worldwide, eventually hosting up to 83 million passengers.

The third terminal is to be fully integrated in the airport's day-to-day business in time for the Olympic Games taking place between Aug 8 and 24, when more than 500,000 foreign visitors are expected in the city.

Already from March onwards, passengers travelling with German carrier Lufthansa and its new Star Alliance partner Air China will be able to check in at the new building.

"Air China is proud to move into Beijing's new terminal as its flagship airline," Air China's vice president Zhang Lan said, calling the project an "impressive new airport complex." Passengers would be "enthralled by the state-of-the-art service," she said.

Investments

Total investment in the airport extension was $3.7 billion (27 billion Yuan), according to official figures. By the end of 2008, the airport with its new terminal is expected to be able to process some 65 million passengers.

"In January and February, there will be three test runs," the airport operator's deputy manager, Huang Gang, says. "The test runs will focus on the equipment installed and passenger flow," he says.

Even the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, will be able to land on the new, 3,800-metre runway.

The baggage handling section is one of the largest worldwide and was built by German electronics company Siemens. Suitcases pass along the 68-km conveyor belt system at a speed of ten metres per second. Some 19,200 items of luggage can be moved in an hour.

2.2 km tunnel

The old and the new parts of the airport are connected by a 2.2-kilometre tunnel.

"It will take less than 25 minutes to move a suitcase from one plane to another," Siemens promises.

Construction has been fast. While a project as complex as this one normally takes four to five years to complete, Siemens took only three years to finish the baggage handling system.

Shops, restaurants and cafes, such as Olympic souvenir shops or coffee chain Starbucks, are currently furnishing their business space.

Airport train system

An airport train system carrying passengers between terminals - similar to that at Madrid and Atlanta airports - was completed in December.

A new train connection from the airport to the new Dongzhimen underground station in the city and a new motorway are to take the strain off the old airport motorway plagued by increasing queues.

However, as visitor numbers in the Chinese capital are expected to increase significantly in the future, expectations are that the newly extended airport will again be too small within a few years.

So the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has proposed the construction of another international airport at Daxing in Beijing's south.

The government's commission for development and reform is currently probing the plans for the new super airport, which would handle 70 to 100 million passengers.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; olympics
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TERMINAL 3

BEIJING AIR TERMINAL 3

1 posted on 01/06/2008 11:02:59 AM PST by JACKRUSSELL
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To: Duchess47; jahp; LilAngel; metmom; EggsAckley; Battle Axe; SweetCaroline; Grizzled Bear; ...
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

(Please FReepmail me if you would like to be on or off of the list.)
2 posted on 01/06/2008 11:03:14 AM PST by JACKRUSSELL
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To: JACKRUSSELL

All covered in a fresh coat of lead based paint!


3 posted on 01/06/2008 11:04:12 AM PST by airborne (Proud to be a conservative! Proud to support Duncan Hunter for President!)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

Any bets on long it will be before parts of it start to crumble or collapse? I have read some stories on FR about other construction projects in China plaqued with substandard concrete...


4 posted on 01/06/2008 11:07:39 AM PST by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

Nothing to see here - all is well - move on.


5 posted on 01/06/2008 11:10:30 AM PST by spanalot (*)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

I zoomed in on the picture and was able to locate the retaining wall paid for by my purchases at Home Depot over the past 7 years.


6 posted on 01/06/2008 11:10:42 AM PST by EyeGuy
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To: JACKRUSSELL

China is riding the wave of oil at maximum speed. So are we all, but that’s a different story.


7 posted on 01/06/2008 11:12:40 AM PST by RightWhale (Dean Koonz is good, but my favorite authors are Dun and Bradstreet)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

8 posted on 01/06/2008 11:21:37 AM PST by A. Morgan (Thompson 2008)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

9 posted on 01/06/2008 11:23:14 AM PST by A. Morgan (Thompson 2008)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

10 posted on 01/06/2008 11:25:52 AM PST by A. Morgan (Thompson 2008)
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To: A. Morgan

Nice photos.


11 posted on 01/06/2008 11:39:53 AM PST by JACKRUSSELL
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To: JACKRUSSELL

Imagine how many tons of CO2 emissions could be avoided if the Olympics were cancelled.


12 posted on 01/06/2008 11:39:59 AM PST by Mike Darancette (Democrat Happens!)
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To: A. Morgan
>

"Inbound at the IP, target acquired, 30 seconds to weapons release."

13 posted on 01/06/2008 11:45:34 AM PST by SIDENET (Hubba Hubba...)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

I’m sure this will do wonders for their smog problem.


14 posted on 01/06/2008 12:01:00 PM PST by CalvaryJohn (What is keeping that damned asteroid?)
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To: SIDENET

Exactly! Looks like someone along the way could mistakenly land on the terminal building instead of the runway.


15 posted on 01/06/2008 12:10:31 PM PST by C210N
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To: JACKRUSSELL

Big building.
16 posted on 01/06/2008 12:30:02 PM PST by Dan Lacey
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To: Army Air Corps

“Any bets on long it will be before parts of it start to crumble or collapse? I have read some stories on FR about other construction projects in China plaqued with substandard concrete...”

...probably mixed the concrete with too much lead.


17 posted on 01/06/2008 2:02:02 PM PST by Towed_Jumper (Stephen Hopkins: Founding Father who had Cerebral Palsy.."My hand trembles, my heart does not.")
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To: JACKRUSSELL

That’s a really long walk for a gate change...


18 posted on 01/06/2008 2:59:19 PM PST by Clock King (Bring the noise!)
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To: SIDENET
"Inbound at the IP, target acquired, 30 seconds to weapons release."

It's scary you know the last words of the 9-11 hijackers so well.

19 posted on 01/07/2008 1:25:46 PM PST by YaoYiNBA
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To: YaoYiNBA

You a funny guy.


20 posted on 01/07/2008 1:26:48 PM PST by SIDENET (Hubba Hubba...)
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