The incredible £15bn airport built in the middle of nowhere that’s sinking into the sea | World | News
An airport considered one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of its kind faces a significant challenge. Built entirely on two artificial islands, the airport was hailed as a groundbreaking achievement in engineering but is now sinking into the sea.
Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Japan was completed in 1994 on reclaimed land in Osaka Bay. It is connected to the mainland by a 3-kilometer bridge and has the longest terminal in the world. Although it still serves as the hub for all Japan Airlines and Nippon Airways flights, the airport has sunk approximately 12 meters in the last 31 years.
Engineers believed that the airport, which covers a massive 2,600 acres and has two runways of 3,500m and 4,000m in length, would shrink to four meters before becoming stable. But parts of the two artificial islands reached this threshold in just six years, requiring around £117 million to raise the seawall.
Engineers laid sand to a depth of five and a half meters, ensuring that the airport could support the enormous weight of buildings and aircraft. They also used large amounts of soil to compact the soil layers and create more solid ground.
Plates were placed under the passenger terminal’s hydraulic jacks to help lift the columns and prevent the airport from sinking into the sea. But some experts believe this effort is too late, while others are particularly concerned that the airport is not falling evenly.
Additional improvements were made to the airport after Osaka Bay was hit by Typhoon Jebi in 2018. The seawall was raised a further 2.7 meters to protect against further flooding.
However, Kansai remains one of the busiest airports in the world. In 2024, the airport hosted approximately 30 million passengers from around the world.
Despite millions of bags being processed each year, it has a reputation for never losing luggage since it opened more than 30 years ago. Kansai is currently undertaking major renovations at Terminal 1 to increase capacity and efficiency, including larger lounges, self-luggage drop facilities, AI security and e-gates.
