Britain’s Foster to design new Mexico City airport

Famed British architect Norman Foster and a son-in-law of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim were named Wednesday to design a sprawling, new $9.15 billion international airport for Mexico City. The glass-roofed terminal — shaped like an X reminiscent of the eagle’s open wings in the Mexican flag — will have six runways and serve 120 million passengers per year, four times the existing airport’s capacity. The new facility will be built next to the current Benito Juarez international airport, which has two terminals but struggles to accomodate the growing number of travelers in Latin America’s second biggest economy. The project was unveiled at a ceremony hosted by President Enrique Pena Nieto at his official Los Pinos residence with the two architects on hand.