British architect Norman Foster and Mexican colleague Fernando Romero have had their design chosen for Mexico City’s new $9.2-billion (Dh33.7 billion) airport.
Foster is one of the world’s leading architects and designed the Beijing Terminal 3 airport. Romero is the son-in-law of Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim.
The new Mexico City airport will cover nearly 4,600 hectares of former lakebed adjacent to the present, over-crowded facility. It will have six runways and capacity to serve 120 million passengers per year when it is finished.
The airy, lightweight, membrane-roofed terminal is designed in the form of a giant “X”.
The old airport can handle only 32 million passengers per year. It will eventually be turned over to the city for recreational and educational use.
