Japan's transport ministry has confirmed what many have long suspected: it will not be able to open a second runway at Tokyo's congested Narita airport by the end of the 2000 fiscal year as promised.
While officials say efforts will continue to break a deadlock with landowners to allow for the completion of a partially built 2,500m (8,200ft)-long runway parallel to the existing 4,000m-long one, the government says it is considering alternatives.
Among them is a proposal to build a 2,000m-long runway further north, where most of the required land has been acquired. If approved, it is to be opened before mid-2002, when Japan co-hosts the football World Cup with South Korea. Airport authorities will not provide further details and will not comment on long-debated proposals to build an international airport to serve Tokyo.
The issue of a second Narita runway has been heated for three decades, and the transport ministry had for more than two years targeted the end of the 2000 fiscal year for its opening. It says 33 countries have been seeking new slots for their carriers.
The ministry was hoping to reach agreement to purchase all necessary land from area farmers by April. But landowners, angry over the way their neighbours were forced out by the government when planning for the airport began in the late 1960s, refused to enter into discussions. Around 4.8Ha (11.8 acres) of land remain in the hands of opponents. The 2,500m-long second runway was to have allowed for annual aircraft movements to jump to around 200,000 from 125,000. Sections have been built as farmers have sold land over the years, but work has been halted since 1993.
Source: Airline Business
