Economic planner OKs building new airport in Beijing

China's economic planner announced its approval on construction of a new airport in Beijing on Monday.

The project will involve 79.98 billion yuan (13.11 billion U.S. dollars) of investment and take about five years, said a statement from the National Development and Reform Commission.

The airport is designed to be able to handle 72 million passengers, 2 million tonnes of cargoes and mail, and 620,000 planes in 2025, it said.

It is expected to meet Beijing's rising demand for air transportation and help achieve balanced development in the capital's southern and northern areas, it said.

The new airport will be built in southern Beijing's Daxing District, which borders Hebei Province.

Beijing International Airport, located northeastern Beijing, was listed as the second busiest airport by passenger numbers in the world last year, behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States.