Money for the construction of Chubu International Airport in Aichi Prefecture was restored Wednesday to the fiscal 1998 budget during negotiations between the Finance and Transport ministers.
A semipublic company to be established to carry out the project will receive 4.02 billion yen. A previous request by the Transport Ministry for 4.1 billion yen for the airport had been left off last week's initial budget proposal by the Finance Ministry.
The amount approved by the central government includes 214 million yen in direct investment, 858 million yen in interest-free loans and 1.5 billion yen worth of government-guaranteed bonds. In addition, 300 million yen for a feasibility study will be included.
The semipublic company, when formed, will construct an international airport on reclaimed land in Ise Bay. The original scheme for the project involved hiring a private firm that would be indirectly financed by the national government.
The new scheme aims to clarify the national government's involvement and responsibility in the project, which is expected to eventually cost some 768 billion yen to complete, Transport Minister Takao Fujii said.