Japan's new Kansai International Airport is already near maximum capacity, less than three years after opening, but the construction of second runway and passenger terminal cannot be completed until 2007 at the earliest.
The $13 billion airport, built 5km (3nm) offshore on reclaimed land in Osaka Bay, is now handling 120,000 aircraft arrivals and departures a year. Kansai has a maximum design capacity of 160,000 movements, which the airport expects to reach as early as 2000.
According to Kansai international-affairs director Hiroshi Tanaka, however, the configuration of existing flightpaths effectively limits the airport to 130,000 landings and take-offs. Under an agreement with local residents to restrict noise, aircraft can only approach and depart over water.
The Government is negotiating with local residents to open overland approaches, but faces strong opposition. The airport, designed for 24h operations, is limited to 25 runway movements an hour.
Japan's transport ministry is planning for a conservative growth rate of 6%a year at Kansai over the next Ìve years, and hopes that the long-overdue completion of a planned second runway at Narita in 2000 will relieve some of the strain. The annual growth in traffic since Kansai opened in September 1994 has averaged 10% .
The addition of a second, parallel, 4,000m (13,000ft) runway will increase total movements to 230,000 a year, while a longer-term third cross-runway could further increase this number to 300,000. Survey work for a larger second reclaimed platform has already begun, but actual construction can not begin until 1999 and will take eight years to complete.
The projected $13 billion second-phase expansion is made difficult by the depth of water and underlying soft-clay seabed. Construction costs for the original Kansai platform doubled as the result of reclaimed land sinking 10m. The airport is expected to subside a further 1.5m over the next 30-50 years.
Source: Flight International
