A combo photo of Beijing Capital Airport PEK Terminal 3.

It will take only 8 minutes by foot to reach the furthest boarding gate at Beijing's new airport, which is expected to be put into operation in 2018, said an official with the Municipal Development and Reform Commission Monday.

The new airport is designed under the guidance of user and environment-friendly concept. Passengers will only need to walk 8 minutes, or about 630 meters to reach the furthest boarding gate, as opposed to 26 minutes required at the Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK).

The height of the terminal building reduced to 50 meters

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In order to better utilize space and get natural lighting and ventilation, the height of the terminal building will be reduced from 80 meters to 50 meters, greatly enhancing efficiency.

Moreover, the lighting and air conditioning system will be adjusted in accordance with the time of the day; energy-saving technologies such as geothermal energy and eco-friendly building materials will be used as well.

Building a new airport in Beijing has become an urgent task as demand for air travel increasingly outgrows the capacity of the existing airports in the city. The official revealed that the project is expected to get approval from the authorities in the first half of this year; the construction is scheduled to complete in 2017 and the airport is to be put into use in 2018.

Rail transit to be built for the new airport

The official added that construction of several infrastructural projects will kick off successively this year, including a 66-kilometer subway line from Mudanyuan to the new airport, which is expected to complete in 2018.

New airport to serve as an international air center

The new airport will serve as an international air center that caters to both domestic and international air travel demand. While Beijing Capital International Airport focuses mainly on passenger transport, the new airport is expected to lay equal emphasis on passenger and cargo traffic, building itself into an airport that is more internationally competitive.

Meanwhile, authorities are considering establishing an airport cluster comprising of the new airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, Tianjian airport and Shijiazhuang airport, with consideration given to building an airport economic zone that can promote coordinated development among the three areas.

The new airport is expected to help ease pressure on Beijing Capital International Airport, which remained the world's second-busiest airport in 2013 in terms of passenger throughput.