Legislative by-election candidate Enoch Wu (吳怡農) proposed relocating Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and replacing it with a 213 hectare public park as part of his election platform presented on Thursday.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate said the plan would rejuvenate the city by turning the area into the “lungs of the city,” providing fresh air and a public recreation space that is eight times the size of Taipei’s Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園).
Moving the airport out of the city would allow for urban renewal, as low-rise building limits would no longer be in effect in a residential and business zone covering 3,000 hectares around the airport, Wu said.
Photo: CNA
Larger building projects could increase the number of public facilities and social housing units in Taipei, he added.
Relocating the airport has been discussed over the past several years, and is widely supported by residents and borough wardens, Wu said.
The airport’s capacity could be handled by Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, as its third runway is scheduled for completion in 2030, increasing arrivals and departures to 90 per hour from 50 per hour, and an increase in annual passenger traffic to 65.41 million people from 48.69 million, Wu said, citing data from 2019.
“Songshan airport handled 6.35 million passengers in 2019, which Taoyuan airport could easily absorb when the third runway is completed,” he said.
“We should plan for it now, and not wait until 2030,” Wu said. “We can coordinate with local and central authorities.”
Songshan airport negatively affects the quality of life of nearby residents in terms of air and noise pollution, he added.
Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate in the legislative by-election, dismissed the suggestion.
“They are empty words, only political rhetoric for media attention,” she said. “After the election, he will have nothing to say about it.”
The airport provides efficient connections for residents of Taiwan’s outlying islands, she added.
KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) said he was told by sources that the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) opposes relocating the airport.
The AIT would rely on an airport in the heart of Taipei for the evacuation of Americans in the event of an emergency, Fai said.
When China held its live-fire drills in the waters around Taiwan in August, the AIT developed an evacuation plan involving assembly at Taipei Dunhua Junior High School, close to the airport, Fai said.
“Aircraft can conveniently evacuate people from Songshan airport to US aircraft carriers stationed offshore,” he said, citing people close to the AIT.
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