New Hub

New hub for industry heartland AIRPORTS: Mariko Sanchanta looks at why a country that already has 82 airports is becoming particularly enthusiastic about another one.

News that yet another airport is under construction in Japan is usually met not with fanfare but with protracted sighs.

Airports have long been viewed with scepticism in the country. They are a symbol to some of incurable pork barrel politics in Japan where prefectural pride dictates that nearly every city must have its own gateway to the outside world.

Japan, a country approximately the size of Italy, has 82 international and domestic airports, with another six under construction. The imminent opening of one of these six, however, has been eliciting genuine enthusiasm in both the overseas and domestic press. More importantly, it is being hailed by observers as the new model for public works spending.

Central Nagoya Airport - Chubu as it is known in Japanese - is built on top of a massive man-made island. It is to open on February 17, in time for the Aichi Expo, a world fair that will be launched the following month. Chubu Airport is located in a rich industrial heartland of Japan, where Toyota and its many suppliers are headquartered. It is one of the few regions outside Tokyo where economic growth is not stagnant or declining.

"The Chubu area is one of the powerhouses of the Japanese economy," said Geoffrey Tudor of Japan Airlines. "This provides us with a new business opportunity that we didn't have before and gives us the chance to expand international services out of the area."

Indeed, one of the airport's catch phrases is that it will serve as a gateway to Asia. All Nippon Airways, Japan's second biggest carrier, has already announced daily flights to both Shanghai and Seoul from Chubu, while JAL will fly three times a week to Guangzhou and increase its flights to Manila, Bangkok, and Pusan, Korea. About 283 international passenger flights a week have been scheduled at Chubu, in addition to about 100 domestic flights a day.

The airport will also be an active hub for cargo shipments, particularly to China. Federal Express, the leading express shipper, has announced it will use Chubu as one of its hubs, with plans to operate flights to North America and Asia. Meanwhile, JAL has announced that it will operate three 747 freighters a week to North America from Nagoya.

"The airport is well-placed as there is a steady stream of trade between the Nagoya