On May 11, Beijing New Airport started its construction of the west ATC tower, kicking off the ATC facility construction at the new airport. CAAC Deputy Administrator Wang Zhiqing was debriefed by heads of Beijing New Airport Construction Command Center, CAAC ATM Bureau and CAAC North China Regional Administration on the progress made in some of the key ATC related construction projects at Beijing New Airport, including airspace planning for the terminal areas, the three centers (CAAC Operation Management Center, CAAC Weather Center, CAAC Information Management Center) construction and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) system construction.

Wang Zhiqing said, Beijing New Airport will be a new engine driving national development as well as a project marking civil aviation’s entry into a new stage of development. ATC projects are directly linked to the smooth commissioning and safe, efficient operation of Beijing New Airport. Wang Zhiqing gave instructions that, in the construction of key ATC projects, all the entities involved should meticulously arrange their work, coordinate with each other, keep up with the construction schedule in accordance with the requirements of “making the construction project a high-grade, exemplary, safe and clean one”. Attention should be paid to innovation with respect to concept, technology and management, and efforts should be made to follow the highest standards in terms of design, quality and function.

It’s reported that a succession of construction works will kick off recently for a batch of key civil aviation ATC projects, including the ATC project at Beijing New Airport. The Beijing New Airport already started on May 11 its west tower construction as part of its ATC facility construction project. It’s estimated that Beijing terminal control center construction project will start in June; the construction of the east tower and core Air Traffic Controller working area will kick off in July; and the whole project will be completed in September 2019. With respect to the three-center (CAAC Operation Management Center, CAAC Weather Center, CAAC Information Management Center) construction, work is under way on site survey, construction drawing development, etc., and is expected to be completed in September 2020, when the centers will respectively become the third largest traffic flow management center in the world, and the aeronautical meteorological center and civil aviation information exchange center for the Asia-Pacific region, giving to full play their role as the national operational centers serving civil aviation industry. The construction of ADS-B system in the east and west China started last year, and is estimated to be completed by the end of 2018 when nationwide ADS-B coverage will be realized, providing radar coverage for uncovered areas in west China and alternative surveillance for busy terminals in east China and setting the stage for the application of new satellite-based civil aviation technologies.