Japan's $20 Billion Dollar Floating Airport Is Sinking

Japan is filled with a plethora of expensive and innovative engineering marvels, but not all of the country’s major infrastructure projects have gone according to plan. The Kansai International Airport might be one of the biggest blunders in Japan’s engineering history. It’s built of reclaimed land in Osaka Bay, and it’s sinking into the water. Engineers always expected the island to sink a bit, but they seriously underestimate just how much the airport’s artificial islands would sink. By 2056, some experts believe that the airport will reach sea level, which will pose a significant risk to the airport terminals and runways. So far, engineers have come up with a few innovative solutions to slow down the sinking, but these are just stopgap measures. The airport might continue to sink for 100 years or more, but if the speed of sinking accelerates the airport will likely have to be abandoned. Construction of the Kansai International Airport began way back in 1987, and the project was originally supposed to cost about $8 billion. However, the total cost to build the airport has since skyrocketed to $20 billion because of all the costly repairs. Iron plates under the foundation and a stronger seawall are two of the ways engineers are improving the Kansai International Airport. These measures should slow down the rate at which the airport is sinking. Here’s a look at Japan’s $20-billion floating airport and what’s being done to stop it from sinking. Keep watching to find out more about the Kansai International Airport.

Written by: Rob Cramer
Narrated by: Adam Newmark
Edited by: Danila Fel

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:42 Offshore Construction
04:37 Airport Expansion
05:18 Engineering Mistakes
06:18 Fixing the Problem

[Magmax]

Let it sink because then it would be the worlds first underwater airport.

[zptjvdw]

Engineers: Everything will be fine.
Tsunami: Hold my beer. 🍺

[Tamwyn]

You didn’t answered your own question “why is the airport sinking” and “the engineers underestimated how fast the airport sinks” is not the answer, even when you repeat it a few times

[damnjustassignmeone]

Japan’s tech is pretty amazing. Maybe missed the mark on this one.

[CharlieDebts]

The fatal flaw was they didn't believe the ocean required compensation.

[MrBossNet]

We spend 60 billion for electricity from 5 years in Lebanon and guess what we don't have electricity now 🤣😂😂🤣

[rockon]

Landing at that airport would make me feel like a duck

[marcuspotter]

It looks like that will be an lost airport with an extremely high sunk cost! :D

[F.B.I.gov.]

It's sinking because Aquaman wants to access the airport as airways is much faster than seaways

[joesh]

Soon it’ll be an underwater airport that has flights to the lost Atlantic city… prettyyy cool tho ngl

[vishalpatelful]

Meanwhile, natural disasters be like - this is the reason we choose Japan.

[truthorhappiness]

The title should be: “Japan’s Island-Sized Floating Computer Chip”

[Sam-nyng]

I still love Japan and ALL Nippon Airways I got to work there for 3.5 years and live in Kobe Some of the best time of my Life !! Thank you ANA..

[Pecch]

They spent $8B on something they knew would sink interesting

[calebwiebe]

Regardless of their failures, Japan seems to be properly invested in the public, imagine what the states could do if they took 50-100 billion from their overinflated defence budget.

[garagespooky]

I’ve been to Kansai airport, it’s a very beautiful airport. I hope they fix this sinking issue eventually.

[jappansingh]

My professor gave a lecture on the same island 40 minutes ago but this is way better

[joshstryker]

This is an example of where being cheap in the short term costs more in the long run

[slikskils]

"69 chambers'"

japanese people: "nice"

[Twizztify]

I’m certainly no engineer, but I can tell you that water always leads to disaster. Who tf and why tf would make you think building on the water is a good idea!? Let alone an airport! 🤦🏻‍♂️