OceanWorks, of Encinitas, Calif., says it has a solution for the San Diego Airport Authority, which has tried for years to find a site for a new airfield in crowded Southern California. The company is proposing to build an airport 10 miles off the coast. “The offshore option is the best and apparently the only viable one for San Diego,” says OceanWorks CEO Adam Englund. “We aim to make it the most secure, self-sustaining, economically vibrant, and greenest airport ever built.” On Monday, OceanWorks sent a notice of claim to federal, state and local agencies to gain exclusive rights to 40,000 square miles of ocean for the purpose of developing, building and operating an international airport. Proposals for getting passengers to the airport include fast ferries, a floating bridge, and underground or underwater tunnels. Advantages to the offshore site include eliminating noise complaints and enabling aircraft to land safely even in foggy conditions, the company said. In its claim, the company says it intends to use the area for an airport and also for industrial, commercial, farming and residential uses “up to and including ocean-based metropolises.” Englund estimates the airport would cost $20 billion, according to KNBC News. Japan currently operates five offshore airports, but they are closer to shore and all have an above-ground connection with the mainland.
