The only airport built on two artificial islands is sinking rapidly

if we talk Kansai International Airport, In Osaka (Japan), we will do it with one of the constructions that has probably given the worst results in recent decades. This is because artificial islands have been created Over Osaka Bay, Their collapse began long before engineers had calculated.

this airport It was inaugurated in 1994 After a titanic operation in which engineers had to make countless calculations and carry out countless procedures to build the airport About these two islands, But something did not happen as it should have or as they had anticipated.

A good example of this is the fact that its construction was estimated at approximately eight million dollars, But in 2008 it had already exceeded 20 billion

Only in repairs, improvements and modifications.

But before knowing the story, we have to tell why this is so. The Japanese Ministry of Transport decided to build The airport is on these two artificial islands rather than the mainland.

The answer is simple: The airport built in Osaka was a disaster zone for thousands of civilians Those who lived very close to it and due to the noise generated by the planes taking off, filed several lawsuits, which they won and the airport management had to spend huge amounts of money.

In view of this problem this decision was taken build another on the said islands, But something soon began to fail: the islands began to sink at a much faster rate than engineers had predicted. They have sunk up to 12 meters from 1994 to 2024.

Despite this, the airport was in great demand, such as in 2016, when it was used For up to 26 million people, Thus it joined the list of the 30 most used airports in Asia, in addition to being considered one of the civil engineering monuments of the millennium. American Society of Civil Engineers.

But this qualification and international recognition did not help in the fight against nature, which had prepared a cruel and unpredictable fate for the airport with the collapse of the islands, which began to sink dangerously, and in detail that the engineers escaped: That each one sinks at a different rate.

According to the plans and calculations of the planners, the islands will be gradually settled They will become stable 50 years after the completion of construction Certainly about five meters above sea level, the assumption is that the islands will not sink at that altitude. nothing could be further from the truth.

Kansai will be completely submerged in the year 2056

And exactly five years later the first island was already at this level, so the calculations had to be done again, and it is currently believed thatBoth islands will be completely submerged by the year 2056 below sea level.

This was a big surprise to everyone involved in the project, and in the words of Kansai Airports’ Director of Communications, It was impossible for the engineers to be confused by so many years of difference In his estimates, however, reality indicated that, in fact, the calculations were clearly wrong.

Now, Kansai Airport is operating normally But the reality is that no one can make safe predictions, so its future is uncertain and only nature will tell how long the airport can remain in operation and how long the islands can remain standing.

Furthermore, currently Kansai Airport is a tourist destination And is chosen by millions of people who come to Osaka not only because of the attractiveness of the islands, but also because of the airport, which is extremely modern and has a very unusual appearance.