Central Japan International Airport began the construction Thursday of a commercial complex to showcase the first Boeing 787 jetliner, with the goal of a summer 2018 opening
The first floor of the three-story complex — dubbed "Flight of Dreams" — will house the first test aircraft ZA001, while the other two floors will have shops and restaurants from where visitors can see the plane.
"We want it to be a space overflowing with dreams," Masanao Tomozoe, the president of the airport's operator, said at a groundbreaking ceremony.
On the first floor of the complex, which will be built south of the airport's terminal building, there will also be an area where visitors can learn about how the 787 Dreamliner, which made its maiden flight on Dec. 15, 2009, is constructed.
Boeing donated the airplane to the airport in Aichi Prefecture in 2015, as over 30 percent of the Dreamliner's airframe structure is built in the Chubu area centering on Nagoya.