Seventh Seven-year Airport Development Plan
The 7th Airport Development Plan focuses on the development of hub airports, rather than the expansion of local airports. The budget for the plan totals 3,400 billion yen, excluding the reserve fund of 200 billion yen. Of the airport development budget of 2,596 billion yen, 2,014 billion yen has been allocated for the development of hub airports. A total of 574 billion yen has been set aside for the second phase construction at Kansai International Airport. The 7th Plan covers the so-called "Three New Major Projects." These are (1) the second phase of construction at Kansai International Airport, (2) the construction of Chubu International Airport, and (3) the construction of a third airport in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Other major tasks include achieving full-scale operation at New Tokyo International Airport (Narita), and completing the offshore expansion of Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). Apart from the airport development budget, 337 billion yen is allocated to environmental measures, and 467 billion yen to the development of airways and improvement of air safety equipment.
Development Strategies for international hub airports
Liberalization of the aviation industry has reduced the level of dependency of airports on activity levels of the local economy. The East Asian Region is proceeding with an airport development project that could take over the position of Narita Airport as one of the world's main hub airports. Hong Kong recently opened its new airport, while airports are under construction in Seoul, South Korea and Sepang, Malaysia. Existing airports are also undergoing renewal. For example, expansion work is in progress at the Changi Airport in Singapore and Chiang Kai Shek Airport in Taipei, Taiwan. Japanese Council for Civil Aviation, meanwhile, has identified the "improvement of hub airports in major cities" as a top priority and has formally positioned Narita and Kansai International Airports as Japan's international hub airports in the 7th Airport Development Plan (in the December 1996 recommendations by the Council for Civil Aviation on the future development of airports / air safety equipment, and on the 7th Five-year Airport Development Plan). These priorities were reflected in the 7th Five-year Airport Development Plan (later extended to a Seven-year program).
