Due to expansion problems with the already established Osaka Itami Airport nearby, the city planners discussed the need for a new airport and a site within easy reach of the city of Kobe was chosen in 1987. Within Osaka Bay itself, Kansai Airport was built on an artificial island measuring around 4 km / 2.5 miles in length. The amount of landfill required was enormous and after three years of construction, Kansai Island had been built.
Linked to mainland Honshu by a 3-km / 2-mile bridge, by 1990, the island had started to sink far more than expected and so an expensive engineering project commenced to rectify this problem. Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX) was finally opened for business in 1994 and the terminal actually stands on columns, which can be adjusted if any further subsidence of the island occurs. Overall, this is one of the most expensive airports on the planet, costing literally billions of American dollars to create.
