The world's biggest airport will open in Beijing in 2019

Believe it or not, the world is about to be gifted with another design creation by the late architect Zaha Hadid - and that will come in the form of Beijing's new airport.

On top of that, it is touted to be the world's biggest airport when it opens in 2019.

It will be the city's second major airport as well as the new home base for China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, according to China's National Development and Reform Commission.

This will help ensure easier flight connections for passengers as the two airlines are SkyTeam alliance members.

Representatives of the new airport told Reuters the airport could serve 45 million passengers a year with four runways on first opening, while two later phases would push the capacity to 100 million passengers annually.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is currently the world's busiest at 104 million passengers per year, CNN reported. And it's been this way for the past 19 years.

Beijing's new airport project is estimated to cost at least 80 billion yuan (S$16.3 billion), according to Reuters.

Although it's reportedly located far from Beijing's city centre (just over 45km away), the new airport is long overdue as the existing Beijing Capital International Airport is "operating well beyond its intended capacity", said various media reports.

Hadid was an Iraqi-British architect known for her avant-garde designs. She was responsible for some of the world's most transformative buildings including Singapore's very own Nassim Villas and d'Leedon condominium.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg