Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday to mark the start of construction of what it claims to be the country's first terminal for low-cost carriers.

The terminal is scheduled to go operational in autumn next year. Peach Aviation, a Japanese low-cost carrier affiliated with All Nippon Airways (ANA), is slated to use the terminal.

The airport intends to attract more carriers. Shinichi Fukushima, president of the airport's operator, Kansai International Airport Co., told the ceremony that he hopes to promote low-cost carrier business as a key engine of growth.

The terminal, which will be available 24 hours a day, will have a simple structure to allow the company to lower fees charged on carriers. For example, the terminal will be a flat building without boarding bridges.

Five low-cost carriers use the airport to operate a total of nine routes. Malaysia's AirAsia X will open a route linking it with Kuala Lumpur International Airport Nov. 30, while Peach Aviation plans to start flights to Fukuoka airport, southwestern Japan, and Shinchitose airport, northern Japan, March 1.