Kansai International Airport (KIX / RJBB)

Kansai Kokusai Kuko, also known as Kansai International Airport is the central hub of international air transportation in Kansai area.

It is located off the shore, in middle of the sea. It feels strange to land to it, because from plane windows, passengers can see only waves.

During 60's Kansai region was losing trade to Tokyo, which had already good international connections. The original plan was to expand Osaka International Airport. But it could not be done, because it was already surrounded by tall buildings.

Then, someone suggested to build the airport near Kobe, but Kobe officials didn't like the idea of increased noise and air pollution. In addition, such massive airport should be open in 24 hours per day.

Therefore, the planners were facing interesting challenge. There is no land, and they cannot just evict people from their lands. Therefore, the plan to construct artificial island and build the airport to it, came out.

It was major undertaking in engineering, which also became most expensive. It received opposition from local fishermen and environmentalists. The increased traffic and noise pollution effectively keep away the fishes, as well as endanger the ecosystem of the Osaka Bay.

The sea wall was finished in 1989, using rocks and 48,000 tetrahedral concrete blocks. Three mountains were excavated for the land needed in process. 10,000 workers worked over 3 years using 80 ships to build thirty meter layer of earth on top of the sea floor. The engineers faced several problems. The construction on top of the island caused it to compress downwards - sink. Because of this problem, in terminal construction, special adjustable columns were used to support the terminal building.

The Kobe earthquake in 1995 put the Kansai international airport to test. It's epicenter was only 20km away from KIX. It killed 6,434 people in Honshu. But airport received almost no damage whatsoever. Even the glass in the windows remained intact. Later, the airport survived typhoon with a wind speeds up to 200km/h.

Since Kobe airport construction, building artificial islands has received increasing criticism from environmentalists. When constructing man-made islands, the sea's ecosystem becomes compromised. The sea's living beings depend largely on the survival of small creatures, such as small crabs. These crabs require gently sloping edge of water, because they rise to the land during tide. Steep concrete is unforgiving, and they cannot attach to the concrete wall during tide.

In addition to this, there is problem of pollution, and increased risk of liquefaction during earthquake.

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