Hebei's Langfang city eyed for capital's second international airport
The Hebei city of Langfang, about 40km southeast of Beijing, is a prime candidate for the capital's second international airport, according to mainland officials.
Chen Jianjun , a spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, yesterday said the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top planning body, was considering building an airport in Langfang or the southern part of Beijing.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China said the government was conducting feasibility studies on the proposed sites.
According to a report in the China Daily yesterday, Nanyuan Airport in Beijing's south is the other proposed location. But Liang Wei , deputy director of Tsinghua University's Urban Planning and Design Institute, said government sources had told him the other site on the list was Yufa in Beijing's southern Daxing district.
'It would be impossible to turn the existing Nanyuan Airport into an international facility. It is too close to the heart of the capital because it is about 10km from Tiananmen Square,' Professor Liang said. 'Nanyuan is also too small for an international airport.'
He said Daxing district had already reserved land for an airport.
Professor Liang said many urban planners, as well as authorities in Hebei and Tianjin , supported Langfang's candidacy because it would strengthen economic development in the region.
'But from a management point of view, it may be a bit more complicated to build a Beijing airport outside Beijing. It means discussions and co-operation between the governments,' he said. 'However, it shouldn't be a big problem.'
Professor Liang said the Beijing Capital International Airport was being expanded and any new airport would be built after the Beijing Olympics in 2008, probably in a decade to cater to the rising number of visitors.
The Capital International Airport was the busiest mainland airport last year, handling 341,681 flights and more than 41 million travellers.
