Beijing, Oct 31 (IANS): Construction work has begun on a new phoenix-shaped airport in Beijing which is expected to be functional by 2019, the media reported on Saturday.

The project includes four runways, 150 parking aprons for passenger jets, 24 parking aprons for cargo aircraft, 14 maintenance areas and a terminal building with a floor area of 700,000 sq metres, the People's Daily reported.

Located about 65 km from Beijing Capital International Airport, the new airport will take the shape of a phoenix, which echoes the shape of dragon that Terminal 3 of the Capital International Airport.

According to The Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation, the new airport line will take over 39 km with a total investment of $4.5 billion, making it $100 million per km.

The new airport is to handle 72 million passengers, 2 million metric tonnes of cargo and 620,000 flights in 2025.

In a long term, it is expected to handle 100 million passengers and 4 million metric tonnes of cargo annually after 2040.