Giant dragon will overshadow other airports

China offered a first glimpse into the world’s biggest airport terminal yesterday and admitted that the £1.8 billion colossus will soon be too small to cope with demand.

The new Terminal 3 will allow 90 million passengers to pass through Beijing Capital International Airport by 2012. That compares with the 67.7 million currently handled by Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport.



The building, designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank, is on one of the largest construction sites on Earth. At the height of the project 50,000 workers were hammering and welding on site, pouring 1.8 million cubic metres (400 million gallons) of concrete and using half a million tonnes of steel.

The terminal’s soaring golden roofs, scattered with raised triangles to resemble a dragon’s scaly back, and monumental red pillars pay homage to Chinese imperial architecture. Its 790m-wide (2,600ft-wide) roof, Cana-dian-built automatic mass-transit system and 60km (40 miles) of baggage carriers are testimony to Beijing’s determination to have the most modern facilities – whatever the cost.

There are more photos here.