Fukuoka Governor Wataru Aso said a new runway should be built at Fukuoka Airport in Japan to prevent air traffic congestion, Jiji Press reported.
Taking Aso's remark as expressing local residents' support of a plan to add a 2,500-metre runway to the airport, the central government is likely to give the final go-ahead for the construction shortly, sources familiar with the matter said.
Fukuoka Airport, which only has a 2,800-meter runway, cannot handle more than 145,000 landings and departures annually, while demand for air trips to and from the southwestern prefecture is expected to surpass the airport's capacity in the early 2010s.
To cope with the problem, authorities of local and national governments launched talks in July 2003 and have come up with the two options: adding a 2,500-metre runway to Fukuoka Airport or building a new airport with two 3,000-metre runways.
The new runway's construction is estimated to cost some US$2 billion and expected to be completed in about seven years.
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