Transport minister Chikage Ogi said Friday her ministry will ask the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and other neighboring local authorities to pay 130 billion yen toward the planned expansion of Haneda airport.
The amount constitutes some 20 percent of the cost of the 900 billion yen project, which includes the construction of a 2,500-meter runway and is scheduled to be completed by 2009.
The local governments have basically approved the plan to turn Haneda into an international airport via the completion of a fourth runway -- but have been reluctant to shoulder the financial and environmental burdens.
To reduce the financial burden for local governments and speed up the project, the transport ministry also plans to introduce private finance initiatives, in which private-sector funds and expertise are used to develop social infrastructure.
The ministry plans to use PFI to develop facilities such as a terminal and aprons, which are expected to total 200 billion yen.