Runway on reclaimed land sinks 1mm

It has been revealed that the Inchon International Airport`s runways, reclaimed from the sea, have sunk 1 millimeter within the past six months. Airport builders inspected the sinkage of the runway on the reclaimed land and revealed that the runway had sunk 1 millimeter and that the taxi lanes between the runway and terminals and the aircraft berths have sunk at some points as much as 3.4 millimeters to 4.9 millimeters.

"If the runway continues to sink, we could have similar problems as Kansai International Airport in Japan has been facing recently in such areas as rescue and packaging,¡± according to the spokesperson for the construction company. ¡°However, as we predict that the total sinkage will not exceed 1 centimeter within the next 20 years, there really is no cause for alarm." According to the spokesperson, the unstable underground layer in Kansai International Airport is about 18 meters, while at Inchon the unstable layer is a mere 5 meters on average. As such, Inchon International Airport sits on comparatively stable foundation.