The first ventilation corridor is near completion in Beijing, one year after the Chinese capital city vowed to set up nine corridors to blow away the lingering smog.

The first corridor, located outside the 4th Ring Road to the west of the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the “Bird's Nest,” is scheduled to stretch across a 177-hectare area upon completion. It will hold a 350,000-square-meter high-tech park of Zhongguancun and a city park that is nearly 7 hectares, Beijing Evening News reported.

The construction of the corridor required the relocation of 100,000 people and the shutdown of 14 low-end markets, which covered some quarter-million square meters. Relocated villagers are expected to return to new apartments by 2020, according to the newspaper.

Beijing unveiled the ambitious plan as a fantastic solution to combat smog in 2016 as the capital faced a constant smog threat that could only be battled with strong winds.

Experts believe that the corridor will help reduce the urban heat-island effect and help disseminate pollutants by increasing air flow, hence weakening the smog.

In three years, a total of nine ventilation corridors are expected to be complete, Beijing Evening News reported.