Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and President Kim Kyung-wook of Incheon International Airport Corp. inspect the airport’s fourth runway on June 16 one day before its official opening.

A fourth runway, a core part of Incheon International Airport’s Phase 4 construction project, is being put into operation after four years of construction. When the fourth phase project is completed by 2024, Incheon International Airport will look to be one of the world’s top three airports.

Incheon International Airport’s 4th runway will have four rapid exit taxiways, bringing the number of rapid exit taxiways for all the runways to eight. The step will raise the runways’ accommodation capacity from 90 frequencies per hour to 107.

Builders are utilizing a wide screed finisher and a trapezium grooving construction method, developed by Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC), which has been employed for the first time in the nation.

These are designed to eliminate asphalt construction joints in the central parts of the runway and improve drainage capacities and slide friction, thus improving the quality of the runway’s pavement and safety.

IIAC is pouring 412.1 billion won in the construction of the 4th runway, including 145.4 trillion won in costs of securing the related sites. The corporation plans to start taxiways directly connecting the 3rd and 4th runways by the end of this year.

There are four foreign airports with four or more runways, aside from Incheon International Airport. The four are Amsterdam Airport Schiphol of the Netherlands, Frankfurt Airport of Germany, Shanghai Pudong Airport of China and Haneda Airport of Japan.

If the fourth phase construction project, costing a combined 4.8 trillion won, is finished by 2024, Incheon International Airport will be one of the world’s top three airports following airports in Dubai and Istanbul.

Incheon International Airport test-operated the fourth runway one day before it was put into operation officially on June 17.

About 20 people, including Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), IIAC President Kim Kyung-wook, MOLIT Dir.-Gen. Joo Jong-wan in charge of airport policy, participated in the trial operation.

Acting Jun Hyeong-wook of the Construction Division at IIAC gave a briefing on the construction of the fourth runway and upcoming repaying of the first, second and third runways. IIAC President Kim said, “The fourth runway is much spacious and gusty.”

With the operation of the fourth runway, repaving the third runway will start this year, work on the first runway, next year and one on the second runway in 2023, he said.

IIAC President Kim said, “As the glob al aviation demand is recovering gradually thanks to expanded vaccination against COVID-19 pandemic, the successful operation of the fourth runway will prime for the recovery of flight demand.”

Incheon International Airport will secure an upper hand in an ever-escalating competition to become a global hub airport by finishing the fourth phase construction project, costing a combined 4.8 trillion won, without interruption, he added.

MOLIT Minister Noh Kyeong-ouk looks into Incheon International Airport’s flight control center and steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. (Photos: MOLIT)