Japan's latest airport opened today in Kobe, a controversial project aimed at boosting the economy a decade after the western city's devastating earthquake.
Dubbed "Marine Air", because it is built on reclaimed land with a view of the ocean, Kobe is the second major new airport to open in Japan in as many years.
Centrair opened in February 2005 near the central industrial city of Nagoya.
Kobe Airport, costing 314 bln yen, is the third gateway to the region. It was built even though Kansai International Airport, opened nearby in 1994, is still struggling to draw enough passengers.
The new airport has a 2,500-meter runway, long enough for jumbo jets, but for now the airport will only serve small-size planes on seven domestic routes.
Some 3.2 mln passengers are expected in the first year.
CAPA
Dubbed "Marine Air", because it is built on reclaimed land with a view of the ocean, Kobe is the second major new airport to open in Japan in as many years.
Centrair opened in February 2005 near the central industrial city of Nagoya.
Kobe Airport, costing 314 bln yen, is the third gateway to the region. It was built even though Kansai International Airport, opened nearby in 1994, is still struggling to draw enough passengers.
The new airport has a 2,500-meter runway, long enough for jumbo jets, but for now the airport will only serve small-size planes on seven domestic routes.
Some 3.2 mln passengers are expected in the first year.
CAPA
