A government panel charged with cutting waste sought Monday to freeze grants to debt-laden Kansai International Airport until a new bailout plan is worked out, as part of the panel's efforts to sort out overspending in ministries' budget requests for fiscal 2010.
Rather than green-light the proposed ¥16 billion in grants to help lower high landing fees at the Osaka Prefecture-based airport, which is saddled with more than ¥1 trillion in interest-bearing debts, the Government Revitalization Unit demanded that demand-boosting measures be devised, such as a review of the roles played by the Kansai region's three airports.
On the fourth day of its nine-day, open-door investigation that started last Wednesday, the panel also called for cutting about 10 percent from the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry's ¥42.5 billion request for projects to maintain local airports.