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Centrair
(Central Japan International Airport)
The
Chubu Region Grows
a Pair of Wings
Overview of the passenger
terminal building |
Steady progress
has been made toward the completion of Centrair,
Central Japan International Airport, to
meet its scheduled opening in February 2005.
In February 2003 the landfill work on the
offshore island in Ise Bay off Tokoname
City was completed. Now construction of
the runway and passenger terminal is proceeding
at fever pitch, and the site is quickly
taking on the appearance of a first-class
international airport.
Looking down at the island from above, one’s
eyes are drawn to the 3,500-meter runway,
which is one of the longest runways in Japan.
The runway and taxiways are being paved
using asphalt supplied by three plants built
on the airport grounds. An estimated 450,000
tons of asphalt will have been used by the
time the job is done.
The airport aprons—areas next to terminal
buildings where planes park to load and
unload passengers—are being constructed
using slipform paving, a technique never
before employed in building a Japanese airport.
With this method, concrete is spread, shaped,
and finished in one continuous operation
without the use of metal forms. At the construction
site, slipform pavers and other kinds of
heavy equipment lay out the concrete in
long strips. Nearly all of the airport’s
broad aprons are to be completed using this
technique.
The main elements of the exterior of the
passenger terminal, such as steel frames
covered by white panels, are in place. Inside,
the interior finishing is making good progress.
The main building, the Center Pier, and
the international and domestic wings are
now all connected, and moving walkways are
being installed. The windows on the third
floor of the international and domestic
wings have been installed, and the sunlight
shining through them bathes the lounges
at each gate. All that remains, it would
seem, is for passengers to arrive.
The interior of the 87-meter-tall control
tower, which juts into the sky behind the
domestic wing, is finished. Construction
on the cargo terminal got underway this
summer. The day is quickly approaching when
Centrair will be a crossroads for exchange
between the Chubu region and the world. |
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