Construction began in 1987 and began operations in 1994. Kansai Airport is Japan's largest international airport, 4km long and 2.5km wide with 42 gates. There are two ways to get to the airport: you can drive a car at 80km/h on the upper level or take the train on the lower level via a 3,500m long bridge leading to the island.
Compared to a country located on an island and surrounded by the sea, it is not strange that an airport is built on an island. But what is admirable about the Japanese people here is that the airport is built on the island they created. It took the Japanese 20 years and 1,500 billion yen to build the island and Kansai International Airport. Creating a solid foundation that can bear the load of the entire structure is a difficult problem for the designer. According to calculations, the height from the bottom up is 33m, the water is 18m deep and every day the island sinks 1mm, after 30-50 years the island is stable and still 4m above sea level. To reduce the subsidence, they drove 1 million steel piles into the soft ground, along with thousands of tons of sand and stone to create a solid concrete wall.
The project is designed with a dome structure, which is a typical element of marine projects. This design is to reduce wind pressure; the more curved the roof, the lower the wind pressure. In addition, this shape is the highlight of the entire project.
The purpose of building an airport in the middle of the island is also to help take off and land at sea. The airport can operate 24/7 while still avoiding noise pollution for residents.
Kansai Airport is one of the most modern airports in the world and also the best airport in terms of service and customer care. Over the past 20 years, no one has ever complained about lost luggage. This is also the landing place of many major airlines from many countries, including Vietnam Airlines.
News: Bao Khuyen
