Beijing Capital International Airport's new terminal building is a $2-billion project on a rapid construction schedule. It is slated to open in 2007 as China ramps up infrastructure projects prior to the 2008 Olympics. The new terminal will give the airport capacity to handle 60 million passengers annually.

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here's nothing quite like the prospect of hosting a quadrennial Olympiad to boost infrastructure spending. Perhaps the globe's best ongoing example is the new international airport terminal at Beijing Capital International Airport, which will welcome the world's greatest athletes in 2008.
      The new terminal, which will make the airport China's largest, will enclose a floor area of more than 1 million sq. m. (10.7 million sq. ft.) and will handle 43 million passengers annually, boosting the airport's total capacity to 60 million. Another expansion will add capacity for 12 million more by 2015. The US$2-billion project, due to open in 2007, will have been designed and built in just four years. U.K. architectural firm Foster & Partners designed the expansion, working with NACO, a Dutch airport planner, and engineering firm Arup.
      Not to be outdone in schedule nor price tag, Tianjin Airport, serving as the alternate airport for those Olympic Games, announced in August its own $3-billion expansion project, which it expects to complete by 2007. Passenger capacity would more than triple, while cargo and parcel handling capacity would more than quintuple.
      With China becoming the world's manufacturer and ascending to the WTO, it's not surprising its aviation industry is along for the ride. Further evidence that China is flexing its aviation muscles comes from the U.K.-based Institute of Transport Management, which reports that in 2004 China moved ahead of Japan as the most important Pacific country for scheduled airline operations.
      ITM predicts China will continue its double-digit growth in 2005. Increased flights boost demand for pilots too. China Daily recently reported that an acute shortage of pilots has Chinese carriers recruiting foreign pilots to help handle the load.
      Beijing's growing airport is also drawing new distribution investment. ProLogis has secured land use rights to 26.7 acres (10.8 hectares) near the airport on which it will develop 1.05 million sq. ft. (97,547 sq. m.) in four facilities to meet growing demand for distribution space. ProLogis will invest about $36 million in Beijing Airport Logistics Park, which will be developed in two phases.