Okinawa Governor approves landfill for extending runway of Naha Airport

Okinawa Governor approves landfill for extending runway of Naha Airport

Koji Kohirata, the Director of the Development Construction Department of the Okinawa General Bureau, Cabinet Office received a written approval of the landfill to extend the runway of Naha Airport from Tatsuki Higashi (second from left), an official of the Okinawa Prefectural Government at the OPG office on January 9.


January 10, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) and the Naha Port Authority approved the landfill for extending the runway of Naha Airport on January 9. The Okinawa General Bureau, Cabinet Office, has submitted the landfill application. According to the plan, the construction work will start this month and will be completed in December 2019. The new runway will operate from the end of March 2020. The flight system for accepting the visitors from home and abroad will be strengthened. The OPG aims to add momentum to achieve the goal of attracting 10 million tourists per year.

The Okinawa General Bureau submitted the landfill application in last September. The OPG and the Naha Port Authority approved the landfill application because it meets the standards of the Public Water Body Reclamation Act. The government has shown a plan for transplanting valuable seagrass beds and coral.

Koji Kohirata, the Director of Development Construction Department of the Okinawa General Bureau, emphasized, “This project is essential for achieving the 10 million tourist plan. We want to do this in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

The total project cost is about 199.3 billion yen. The total budget in fiscal year 2013 is 13.7 billion yen, of which the government pays 13 billion yen. The construction will move into full swing from February this year. The planned budget in fiscal 2014 will be 34.7 billion yen, of which the government will bear 33 billion yen. Upon approval, the OPG asked the government for environmental protection measures and to disclose the results of aircraft noise surveys. It also requested that the government to coordinate with the local municipalities if new measures are needed after the runway operates. The General Bureau concluded a fisheries compensation contract with five fishing cooperatives including the Naha Coastal Fisheries Cooperative on January 9.

(English translation by T&CT)

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