MADRID (AFP) – Madrid's Barajas international airport Saturday inaugurated a new sleek, though hard-to-reach, terminal that will double its capacity to 70 million passengers to compete with other European hubs.

Terminal four's additional capacity makes Barajas "the number two European airport after London-Heathrow" and 10th largest in the world, said Madrid's mayor, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, during an inauguration ceremony.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero hailed the project, which began 10 years ago and cost 6.2 billion euros (7.5 billion dollars), as a "new motor" to drive the Spanish economy.