OSAKA -- Kansai International Airport has started repair work on a huge depression on a taxiway that is expected to take several months to complete, an airport official said.
"We suspect (the depression) resulted from sinking at a localized spot, although we cannot say what exactly caused it," the official said Tuesday.
The depression has not affected operations at the airport and the repair work is part of routine maintenance, the official claimed.
Work to fill in the depression with asphalt began Saturday. The repairs will be done at night when no flights are operating, the official said.
The depression measures up to 40 cm deep and covers 4,200 sq. meters.
The airport, built on an artificial island 5 km off south Osaka, is sinking at a faster pace than initially envisaged.
The airport, with one 3,500-meter runway, opened in September 1994, primarily to serve Japan's second-largest metropolitan area, centering on Osaka.