The new Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport passed State appraisal Wednesday.

Nearly 200 officials and experts from the State and Guangdong provincial governments examined and evaluated the 54 projects in a three-day appraisal that concluded Wednesday.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission and also head of the appraisal group, said the projects were up to standard and the new airport would open soon.

Designed by Parsons Corp. and URS Greiner Corp., both of the United States, and the Guangdong Provincial Architectural Design Institute, the new airport can accommodate the world's largest planes.

It is equipped with the latest facilities with the capacity to handle 10,000 pieces of luggage per minute. The terminal has 180 elevators, escalators, automatic walkways and other pedestrian facilities.

Located in Huadu District, the new airport covers an area of 1,456 hectares, about four times the size of the existing Baiyun Airport, which has long been under the strain of by increasing numbers of passengers and cargo volumes.

(Shenzhen Daily July 2, 2004)