The development of Kansai International Airport

Fifteen billion dollars, almost five billion dollars more than the initial budget: that was the staggering cost of building Kansai International Airport, inaugurated in 1994 on an artificial island in Osaka Bay.

The airport survived the 1995 Kobe earthquake intact, followed by a typhoon in 1998. Osaka's new international airport has often been described as an expensive "white elephant". For international passengers, however, it is not only an attractive alternative to Narita as a point of entry to Japan, but also a striking aesthetic experience, since the gigantic terminal was designed by Renzo Piano in partnership with Noriaki Okabe.

The new regional competition from Chubu International Airport (Nagoya), inaugurated in 2005, and Kobe Airport, inaugurated in 2006, has not prevented Kansai International Airport from thinking big about its redeployment, with the opening of a new runway announced for summer 2007, which could soon be followed by a third runway and a new terminal. Stay tuned for live coverage or visit the airport's website at www.kiac.co.jp.