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Despite a slumping airline industry, Japan has opened Ibaraki Airport, its third in the Tokyo metropolitan area, officials said.
The Ibaraki prefectural government is believed to have contributed approximately $80 million toward the total $243 million in construction costs for the airport, which joins Narita and Haneda airports, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Friday.
The facility opened Thursday as an "economy-conscious airport" reportedly with the lowest landing fees in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but prefecture officials say they would like to attract more airlines.
"We want more people to use this airport so that we'll eventually be able to attract more airlines," Ibaraki Gov. Masaru Hashimoto said at the opening ceremony.
In 1999 the central government projected 810,000 people a year would use the airport, with airlines serving routes going to Sapporo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Naha. But an updated projection said only 200,000 would use it, Yomiuri said.
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