Construction on a massive new international passenger airport in Beijing began Friday,

Construction on a massive new international passenger airport in Beijing began Friday, state media reported, as booming demand for travel to and from China stretches the capacity of existing facilities.

Beijing’s current international airport is the world’s second busiest, but also one of the most delayed, with fewer than 20 percent of commercial passenger flights leaving on schedule according to a 2013 report.

The new facility located in southern Beijing is designed to handle 72 million passengers by annually by 2025, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The airport is set to cost 80 billion yuan (US$17 billion) and will be completed in around five years, Xinhua said, adding that it will be able to handle 620,000 flights per year.

Source AFP