29 years ago in September 1994, Japan’s Kansai International Airport started its journey. It is the nearest international airport from Japan’s busy cities like Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.
38 kilometers southwest of Osaka Station on two artificial islands right in the middle of Osaka Bay. This airport has been built.
But the two artificial islands on which the airport is built are gradually sinking under the sea. Even, this airport is slowly moving away from the mainland. According to experts, more than 38 feet of the artificial island has already sunk.
Experts also fear that by 2056 another 13 feet could sink to the sea floor.
Japan spent more than 13 lakh crore rupees to build the airport on two artificial islands. To construct the two artificial islands, first five feet of soil was raised above sea level. It is built upon
2.2 million pipes of 16 inch diameter.
Mud sand is mixed with soil on the pipe to strengthen the soil base. The land on the two artificial islands off Osaka was like a wet sponge. When that land is completely dry, then the construction of the airport begins. In the 1960s, considering the trade between Tokyo and the Kansai region, the Japanese government took steps to build an airport near Osaka, Kobe.
It was initially thought that the Itami International Airport would be rebuilt and expanded. But the city of Itami Toyonaka has so many high-rise buildings that it becomes difficult to find vacant land to build an airport. Even the residents started raising objections. They claim that the construction of the airport will increase the noise pollution. So that plan failed.
The Japanese government backed away from the idea of building a new airport in Kobe. After that, the construction of two artificial islands on the surface of the sea. The country decides.
The construction of the island started in 1987. Kansai International Airport is built on 2600 acres of land by artificially creating two islands. In 1990, the two artificial islands were connected by a three kilometer long bridge. Kansai International Airport is fully operational after four years of bridge construction.
On January 17, 1995, an earthquake occurred in Japan. The earthquake killed 6,434 people on the Japanese island of Honshu. There is also extensive damage. But Kansai International Airport was completely unscathed. Then the severe cyclone that hit the area in 1998 did not cause any damage to the airport.
However, the Kansai International Airport suffered a lot of damage in the cyclone of September 4, 2018. Such a situation is created in the flood caused by the impact of the cyclone, water enters the engine of several planes. Many passengers were stuck inside the airport. A tanker hit the bridge that connected the airport with the mainland and some parts of the bridge collapsed. The airport was closed for flights for two days.
Kansai International Airport is fully operational a month after the typhoon. The work of the bridge was completed by April 8, 2019. According to the 2016 count, a total of 2.6 million passengers traveled through Kansai International Airport. At that time, Kansai Airport was named the third busiest airport in Japan and the thirtieth busiest airport in Asia.
However, the Japanese government is worried about the constant sinking of the artificial island. So will this airport go under the sea in a few decades? Or will any other measures be taken as an alternative?
