Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan), May 10, 2006
May 10--TOKYO -- Building a replacement facility for the U.S. Marines Corps' Futenma Air Station in the Camp Schwab area of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, will cost about 300 billion--100 billion less than the original plan of relocating it off the Henoko district in the city--according to the outline building plan revealed Tuesday.
The total area of the Futenma replacement facility will be about 180 hectares, of which 20 percent will be built on land and 80 percent on reclaimed land. The government estimates the cost of construction will be between 300 billion and 350 billion before completion in 2014.
The government will discuss with the Okinawa prefectural and Nago city governments to decide the detailed plan by summer, aiming to assess the environment impact in the autumn.
According to the U.S.-Japan Road Map for Realignment Implementation, issued May 1, the length of each of the two runways, which are aligned in a V-shape, is 1,600 meters with two 100-meter overruns.
According to the newly disclosed outline, the cost of reclaiming land will be about 200 billion, while the cost of runways, tarmac and hangars, as well as relocating existing facilities in Camp Schwab to an inland area will be more than 100 billion.
The estimated area proposed by the government is about 130 hectares, 30 percent of which is to be built on land.
To avoid flying over residential areas near the facility, the number of runways has been increased to two. As a result, the total area has been increased by 50 hectares, while the reclaimed area shifted offshore by 100 to 200 meters.
A marine forest area--which is also a dugong feeding ground--to be reclaimed will increase from 10 to 20 hectares, drawing concern over the deterioration of the marine environment.
Relocation of the facility to Henoko was estimated to cost about 430 billion, including 330 billion in land reclamation.
Under the Henoko option, the whole length of the facility was to be 2,500 meters, including a 2,000-meter runway for joint military and civilian use. The total area was to be 207 hectares, including a 23-hectare seawall.
Land reclamation for this plan was costly as it had to fill an area more than 60 meters deep and construction was estimated to take more than 12 years.
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