Beijing will start construction of a new airport in the capital on Friday that will become operational in 2019.

The project, which was given final approval by the National Development and Reform Commission last week, will involve nearly 80 billion yuan ($13.1 billion) of investment, making it the costliest project in China's civil aviation history.

The airport is planned to handle 72 million passengers, 2 million metric tons of cargo and 620,000 flights annually after 2025.