The opening ceremony of Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone press conference. [Photo by Daxing District Government]

The Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone held a roadshow press conference on May 30 in Beijing, announcing its first investment projects and its development construction layout.

A number of companies, including the Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce, Emaar Properties, Hannover Messe, Xiamen Airlines, the CBRE Group, and Colliers International signed agreements with the Daxing District Government and the zone's development and construction company at the conference.

A number of foreign guests attend the press conference. [Photo by Daxing District Government]

Traditional Chinese cultural elements to be used in design

According to the design plan, the economic zone is divided into two areas focusing on different functions, and the zone as a whole will introduce traditional Chinese cultural elements in design and will be linked by a green corridor.

With a total planned area of about 50 square kilometers, the zone has a 26-squre-kilometer area in the west focused on international medical treatment, airport support, and other life supporting industries; and a 24-square-kilometer area in the east to develop the industries of international exhibitions, comprehensive bonding, and aviation logistics.

Guided by the development concepts of “innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing”, and featuring traditional Chinese cultural symbols as design elements, the zone has obtained US LEED Green Building Certification (LEED for Cities) Platinum pre-certification.

Establishing the "3+2" innovation industry system

In terms of the industry layout, the economic zone has learned from the development law and experience of other airport economic development areas globally and is striving to create an industrial development model driven by talent and innovation.

The airport economic zone plans to take a “3+2” mode, developing healthy lifestyles, new generation information technology and intelligent equipment as its three pillars of science and technology innovation and focusing on the high-end service industry and aviation support as its two core service fields.

The zone has selected around 250 enterprises as its potential partners and signed strategic cooperation agreements with 34 of them.

The airport’s high-end services will include smart logistics, international exhibitions, and technical consulting and training; while the aviation support services will cover aviation training, aviation maintenance, business jet support, and aviation finance.

The health industry will focus on precision medicine, stem cell technology and medical consumables; the next-generation information technology is to center on big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things; and intelligent equipment will include integration of the aviation industry and robot systems.

First group of investment projects released

The first batch of investment projects in the airport economic zone were released at the press conference, including an international convention and exhibition center, a health center, a shopping town, and the comprehensive bonded zone.

The international exhibition center will hold exhibitions and conferences and provide office and catering services. It will feature high-tech exhibitions, entertainment events and academic exchange meetings.

The health center aims to integrate international hospitals, medical research and development, and health services, and to foster innovation in cutting-edge biomedicine.

The international shopping town will offer consumers comprehensive shopping experiences, including an urban complex, commercial blocks, high-end retail department stores, and specialty restaurants.

The comprehensive bonding zone aims to grow into a comprehensive zone integrating bonded logistics, bonded services, bonded research and development, and bonded processing.

Eying a talent community and smart living area

The economic zone will prioritize an ecological, livable, and smart human habitat environment in its construction and development.

The planning and design of zone highlights a smart, diverse and open working space to facilitate communication between residents in the community, said a person in charge of the construction.

In addition, the zone is fully equipped with facilities in education, medical care, elder care, culture, sports and business, trying to strike a balance between work and housing. 

The economic zone also eyes smart services by building communications facilities at the beginning in its construction. It will also focus on the construction of a slow-moving urban system to meet the needs of residents and build a safe, convenient, comfortable, green and dynamic environment.