Photo/Illutration Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture serves as a gateway to Tokyo, alongside the busier Haneda Airport in the capital. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The construction of new and extended runways at Narita Airport began on May 25 as part of a broader plan to increase the international airport’s annual flight capacity by more than 60 percent to 500,000 by 2029.

The expansion at Narita Airport, located in Chiba Prefecture just outside Tokyo, aims to accommodate the growing number of visitors to Japan and strengthen its competitiveness against other major Asian airports.

As part of the upgrade, the 2,500-meter-long Runway B will be extended another 1,000 meters northward.

In addition, a third airstrip—3,500-meter-long Runway C—will be built south of Runway B.

Together with the existing 4,000-meter-long Runway A, the airport will operate a three-runway system, making it Japan’s second-busiest airport by runway capacity, after Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

Currently, Narita handles around 300,000 flights annually. That number is set to rise to 340,000 by October 2025 through operational changes.

The ultimate goal is to increase the airport’s flight capacity by more than 60 percent by March 2029, reaching 500,000 flights per year once the runway expansion is complete.

The total project cost is estimated at 670 billion yen ($4.69 billion), shared between airport operator Narita International Airport Corp. (NAA) and the government.

To support the expansion, an additional 1,099 hectares of land is required. As of the end of March, NAA reported that 83 percent of the necessary land had been secured.

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