Runways to meet greenway at new Daxing International

Another 780 hectares of vegetation around the Beijing Daxing International Airport is expected to be completed within this year, local officials said.

The airport in Daxing district is scheduled to open in September. The new green area will extend to the airport's surroundings and crucial expressways including the Beijing-Taipei Expressway.

Among these, the green area around the airport's expressways is a major part of the green campaign, local officials said.

The 29-kilometer-long green passage will start from Xihongmen township in Daxing district to the airport and cover an area of more than 1,500 hectares. This year, some 500 hectares of it will be completed.

With the vision of building an airport surrounded by forest, the airport authorities will add green fields to the airport's surroundings in various forms, such as growing seasonal plants, creating green belts as part of its interior construction and setting up an ecological corridor, according to an official of the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau.

According to the district government, 36.35 percent of the airport's surrounding areas, or nearly 17,890 hectares, will be covered by forests.

Last year, the Beijing government issued an action plan to promote the development in the southern area of the city, calling for the restoration of the area's ecosystem and more environmental efforts around the airport.

The authorities have rolled out plans to implement green construction based on resource saving, eco-friendliness, efficient operation and people-oriented services.

For example, the airport has issued a green action plan to call for clean energy vehicles after its operation.

It has adopted innovative energy solutions by establishing systems involving geostationary heat pump and solar photovoltaic power generation to provide renewable energy to the airport.

The airport has utilized low-energy consumption material in its terminal construction, which has been recognized as one of the highest-level green and energy-saving buildings in China.

In addition, a 50,000-square-meter green park is planned to house exits of subway stations linked to the airport, which will involve subway line 19 and the Caoqiao station on a new airport line under construction.

As Beijing is pursuing high-quality development, the use of fewer buildings than previously thought necessary will save space for more forestry plantations, said an official who is in charge of the airport's design.

It is the first time a park has been built specifically to embrace a railway station in Beijing and the green park will be a leisure place for local residents, he said.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/14/2019 page10)