The recently opened Beijing Daxing International Airport in China, known as 'the starfish' for its shape, spans 47 km2 and was built at a cost of US$63 billion. It's the latest mega-infrastructure project for the 'concrete superpower'-so named for the amount of our favourite material it has poured biennially since 2003. The volume of concrete poured in the last 17 years has exceeded the entire amount the USA used in the 20th century. An enormous number of engineering, construction and design firms and institutes from within and outside China were involved in the construction of the new airport. Not surprisingly, details are sketchy from the Chinese firms involved, however, we know the new airport's master plan was prepared by Netherlands Airport Consultants, while the starfish-shaped terminal building was designed by UK-based Zaha Hadid Architects and Groupe ADP from France.
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