Work on new Beijing airport's major facilities nearly complete

Major facilities of the new international airport in Beijing are 80 percent complete, with the airport to be put into use before Sept 30, local authorities said on Saturday.

Gao Aiping, deputy general manager of the Beijing Daxing International Airport engineering department, said the airport is built on eight pillars with 63,450 circular steel tubes, which support the roof of the terminals.

Many bubble windows are scattered throughout the C-shaped pillars to make better use of natural lighting. "We assembled some aluminum-made glass to conserve energy," he said, adding that glass with aluminum netting can reflect 70 percent of the sunlight.

Moreover, the strength of the glass on the airport's rooftop adds more protection to the entire terminal building.

"The glass has three layers, and each layer of the glass is 12 centimeters thick with tempered glass on the top layer," Gao said.

So far, the ground granite stone paving for the new airport has been 80 percent completed, with the ceiling project 95 percent finished, according to the engineering department.

The air conditioners, water pumps and firefighting equipment had been going through the adjusting process, Gao said.

In March, after Spring Festival, the engineering department will conduct a joint adjustment activity on the entire airport infrastructure.

The central area of the new airport terminal covers a total of 180,000 square meters, with the ceiling of the entire terminal building measuring 300,000 square meters, exceeding the area of 400 football fields.

Check out the video to see the latest construction work on the Beijing Daxing International Airport.