China audit finds slow progress on Beijing's new airport project

BEIJING - The construction of Beijing's new airport is behind schedule due to lagging land requisition and demolition work, the country's top auditing authority said on Thursday.

By the end of October, Beijing and Hebei province delivered less than half of the total land needed, with 16.7 million out of all 27.3 million square meters of land still required, according to a report from the National Audit Office.

The new airport, which was authorized for construction by the State Council in December 2012 and is considered a key step for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, is expected to be finished by 2019.

Meanwhile, the report showed that many other major construction projects were also behind schedule with 12 railway projects barely achieving 10 percent of their annual plans which involve 8.57 billion yuan (1.33 billion U.S. dollars) of planned investment.