Many people have been in a plane, but very few have experienced the feeling of an airplane landing at a sea airport. Friends who have traveled to Xiamen may feel that because Xiamen Gaoqi Airport is on Xiamen Island, you can overlook the sea from a high altitude when the plane lands, but because the airport is in the center of the island, as the plane falls, gradually you can only see the ground.

So are there any airports built directly on the sea? The answer is yes, but it has always been built on islands. The first airport to be built through complete reclamation is Japan's Kansai International Airport, located in Osaka Bay, southwest of Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Officially opened in 1994, Kansai International Airport has two terminals covering an area of ​​300,000 and 60,000 square meters respectively, with an annual passenger throughput of about 30 million.

And this maritime airport that Japan is proud of is about to be surpassed by China. China will spend 26.3 billion yuan in Dalian's Jinzhou Bay to build a maritime airport by reclaiming 30,000 mu, which is Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport.

It is expected to be completed and put into use in 2025, and once this airport is put into use, it will directly replace Japan's Kansai Airport as the world's largest maritime airport.

The title of China's infrastructure madman is naturally well-deserved. The terminal area of ​​Jinzhou Bay International Airport is 500,000 square meters. It is expected to carry 43 million passengers a year, surpassing Japan's Kansai Airport in all aspects, and this also makes Japan feel more envious.

However, Jinzhou Bay International Airport is not the first maritime airport in China to be reclaimed from the sea. As early as 1989, Macau started to build a completely reclaimed sea airport, the Macau International Airport, which was completed and put into use in 1995. However, the Macau International Airport is relatively small and can carry 6 million passengers per year. But this is enough for Macau, after all, Macau itself is not very large.

Building an airport at sea is extremely risky, time-consuming and labor-intensive, so why does China have to reclaim the land to build Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport?

Most of the airports we have seen are on land, but Japan's Kansai Airport, Macau International Airport, and the upcoming Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport are all built on the sea through land reclamation. Is this really just for appreciation? A view of the sea?

In fact, it is not. Macau, China and Japan are both islands, with small land area and limited land resources. The construction of the airport requires a large area and needs to be far away from the urban area. Therefore, in the absence of more land resources, it is an optimal choice to build an airport at sea.

Although Dalian is a coastal city, is there no land resources backed by the land?

With the continuous development of the economy and the continuous expansion of the city, if you choose to build an airport on land, it will be very far from the urban area. Although the airport needs to be in a relatively open place, the principle of being as close to the city as possible should be followed, otherwise the airport will lose its role as a transportation hub.

The construction of the airport in the bay not only realizes the open environment and facilitates the take-off and landing of aircraft, but also achieves the purpose of being close to the urban area.

Is there any difference between building an airport at sea and building an airport on land?

It is actually more difficult to build an airport at sea. It is very time-consuming and laborious to reclaim the land first, but fortunately, China has the title of infrastructure madman, and there are island-building artifacts such as the Tiankun and Tiankun, so everything is natural. However, the construction of the airport at sea also has to consider the problem of foundation sinking. Japan's Kansai Airport has not considered this problem, resulting in a decline of 7 cm every year.

Therefore, construction cannot be carried out immediately after land reclamation, and it is necessary to wait for all indicators to pass before construction.

At the same time, the airport is directly built in the bay, and the rising sea level caused by global warming and the impact of severe weather such as typhoons must also be considered. Therefore, various aspects must be considered in the design and construction, so the construction period will be appropriately extended. , we can only see its magnificent appearance through the renderings.

Dalian already has a national-level international airport, so why rush to build a brand-new Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport at sea?

Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport was built in 1972, and has been expanded and upgraded many times. The latest one was in 2011, making Zhoushuizi International Airport a national first-class civil international airport.

The reason for building another airport is because Dalian is not only a tourist city, but also an important coastal city. There is huge energy in both the port and trade, and it is the bridgehead for the economic development of the entire Northeast.

After the Dalian Jinzhouwan International Airport is completed and put into use, the phenomenon of "one city and two airports" will be formed, and the Jinzhouwan Airport will be used as a passenger hub airport, which will greatly benefit the development of Dalian's tourism industry. The sea airport is first and foremost a tourist landmark. Architecture has become Dalian's first business card for tourists.

The Zhoushuizi International Airport has been transformed into a professional cargo hub airport, which can facilitate the transportation of goods and realize the separation of passengers and goods.

After the construction of Jinzhouwan International Airport, it can achieve an annual throughput of 43 million passengers, which has already won the first place among the maritime airports. After the completion of the later plan, it can even reach an annual passenger throughput of 70 million passengers.

This paves the way for Dalian's tourism development in the future, and the Jinzhouwan International Airport can be directly connected to Dalian's subway in the future, and the urban area can be quickly reached through the subway connection, which is very convenient for both citizens and tourists.

After the construction of the airport is completed, there will be supporting airport park construction around. The investment in the entire park will reach 300 billion yuan. Because Jinzhou Bay International Airport also has the ability of an airport, it will also drive the manufacturing, logistics, exhibition and other industries in the park. Development, bringing together more than 400,000 industrial population, and this will bring a new round of economic growth to Dalian.

Therefore, Dalian, as the gateway to the Northeast, owning this maritime airport will vigorously promote the overall development of the Northeast and become a key project in the national 14th Five-Year Plan.