A $20 billion airport constructed over the sea had almost everything accounted for, but not quite everything.
Remarkably, Japanese engineers designed a revolutionary airport on the Osaka Bay, situated in central Japan approximately 300 miles west of Tokyo.
According to Google, the bay has an average depth of 27 meters and flows effortlessly into the Wakayama Bay, which then leads into the Pacific Ocean. This bay is located next to the port city of Osaka and is where Kansai International Airport is situated.
An artificial island named Kankūjima was specifically created to accommodate the airport, originally conceived as a resolution to the congestion at Osaka International Airport.
The island is divided into two sections for each airport building – terminal one and terminal two.
The first terminal, designed by Renzo Piano, handles both international and domestic flights by major airlines, and is 1.7 kilometers long, making it the longest airport terminal in the world today.
Terminal two caters to more regional flights.
Since its opening in 1994, the island has sunk 38 feet.
During construction, planners accounted for many factors, including stabilizing the clay under the seabed where the airport was built. However, engineers did not anticipate how unpredictable the layer beneath the initial clay would be, as it contains pockets of sand.
Even after spending hundreds of millions on a seawall, the island is projected to sink another 13 feet by 2056, with predictions suggesting it could be underwater by 2100.
Inside, the airport boasts a remarkable selection of shops like Chanel, Hermes, and Cartier, as well as restaurants. However, it is the external appearance of the airport that has captivated social media users.
The YouTube channel Design Nerd reports that the airport handles an impressive 20 million passengers annually, making it the third busiest airport in Japan. It also processes one million tons of cargo each year.
Social media users are amazed by the $20 billion island airport.
A Twitter user expressed, “Kansai Airport Japan Built in Ocean..see my dear ..wht a wonderful site.”
“Wow.. This is awesome.. Airport floating in the middle of the ocean,” another commented.
A third person noted: “Kansai AirPort is impressive…an man made Island in the middle of the ocean.”
And a fourth wrote: “Kansai Airport Built in Ocean! Great Example of Civil Engineering!”
Despite being a marvel of civil engineering, the risk of sinking remains.
In 2018, Japan was struck by a devastating typhoon named Jebi, resulting in the death of 10 people and flooding the airport after the sea walls were breached.
Jebi’s force was so great that it pushed an oil tanker into the bridge that links Kansai International Airport with mainland Japan, leaving hundreds stranded inside the terminals.