The northern areas have long been considered to be more developed than those in the south. There are more universities, high-tech companies and research institutions in northern Beijing, while southern districts are home to clothing wholesale outlets, buildings material markets, factories and farmland.
Daxing district was selected as the site for the new airport to help accelerate the industrial transformation of the area, Cui said.
"The new airport will bring talent, related businesses and services to southern areas, which will boost the local economy," he added.
Li Lei, a principal with the Roland Berger consultancy in Shanghai, said the new airport will help drive the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. It also has advantages in meeting the demands of the Xiongan New Area, whose main function is to serve as a development hub for these three regions.
The new airport, which is expected to become North China's air travel hub, is situated on the border of Beijing and Langfang, Hebei. It is 46 kilometers from Tian'anmen Square, 26 km from downtown Langfang, 55 km from the Xiongan New Area and 67 km from Beijing Capital International Airport.
Given the strong regional transportation network between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, travelers landing at the new airport will be able to reach downtown Beijing, the city's government sub-center in Tongzhou district and the Xiongan New Area within half an hour. They can also reach nearby cities including Shijiazhuang, Tangshan and Baoding in Hebei, along with Tianjin, within an hour of landing, according to the new airport's office.
Li said, "The new airport is farther from the downtown area than Beijing Capital International Airport, and there will be some disadvantages for it to attract business travelers in the initial stages of operations.
"However, a number of State-owned enterprises in Beijing plan to move to the Xiongan New Area, and the new airport is predicted to attract more travelers who take business trips from this area to other regions."
Business opportunities
Completion of the new project will bring business opportunities to the two major Beijing airports and airlines－including those staying at the existing airport and those moving to the new one.
"Cooperation between the two airports is greater than their competition, and they will complement each other," Li said.
On Jan 3, CAAC said the new airport is designed as a large international aviation hub, the new growth driver for the nation's development and a comprehensive transportation hub for the integrated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.
Meanwhile, Beijing Capital International Airport will take on the role of an international aviation hub for the Asia-Pacific region.
Cui, the deputy director, said, "Different from the two airports in Shanghai, where one is mainly for domestic airlines and the other mostly for international carriers, the two in Beijing will both be international."
He said this arrangement, added with the airports in Tianjin and Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, will form a world-class airport complex in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.
Tianjin airport will become the international airfreight center for North China and a regional hub, while the one in Shijiazhuang will be developed into a hub for budget airlines and an air courier center.
