Report calls for new airport to be named Beijing Xiongan International

Beijing’s new airport should be called Beijing Xiongan International Airport to reflect the areas it will serve, according to an annual report released on Friday.

The suggestion was made in the Airport Economy Bluebook released during the 2017 Annual Conference of the International Cities Forum on Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Collaborative Development.

The aim of the survey is to ensure the new airport supports the construction of the Xiongan New Area. 

According to the report, through the establishment of the Xiongan New Area, a new city plan of the capital core function area and Beijing city deputy center would be formalized, as a new blueprint of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region emerged. 

“The new city planning solved the problem of moving the non-capital functions of Beijing,” said Lian Yuming, chief researcher of the bluebook. “It will also help ease population pressure.”

The creation of the new airport to serve the Xiongan New Area will be a big step toward improving the development of the new city space pattern, Lian said. 

The report, released by the International Institute for Urban Development in Beijing, an NGO focusing on urban planning, also issued the first airport economic index of China, indicating that Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou had the most powerful airport economies.

It is also necessary to build a free trade zone near the new airport to promote the Xiongan New Area, according to the report.

Construction of the new airport started at the end of 2014 and it is expected to be in operation in October 2019.

The passenger throughput of the new airport will exceed 100 million passengers and will meet the needs of Beijing and the surrounding areas, according to the long-term plan for the new airport.