Beijing's new international airport will start test operation in October 2019, local officials have said.

Engineering projects will be finished in July 2019, and the test operation will start three months later, according to Beijing Municipal Office for Coordination and Promotion of the New Airport Construction.

The airport, located 46 kilometers south to downtown Beijing, is designed to take pressure off the over-crowded Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeastern suburbs. It will sits on the junction of Daxing District and Langfang, a city in Hebei Province.

Airport terminal buildings, covering an area of 313,000 square meters, will consist of a centerpiece and five arms resembling a phoenix spreading out its wings.

In accordance with design, the new airport will have four runways and can accommodate 620,000 flights per year. It will be able to handle up to 100 million passengers and 4 million tonnes of cargo and mail each year in the long run.

The projected airport is 67 km away from the current Beijing Capital International Airport. China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines will be the main carriers at the airport.

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