Songshan Airport relocation returns to Taipei politics after 25 years of stalled proposals

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said on Oct. 8 that he wants to relocate Songshan Airport and turn the airport and surrounding 300 hectares into a "Taipei AI Park," a plan the city government says could generate NT$12 trillion in output. The proposal, however, is far from new. BlockTempo reported that at least seven Taipei mayoral candidates, including Chiang, have publicly backed moving Songshan Airport since 2000. The report traces why the idea has repeatedly failed to move forward. The airport is a joint civil-military facility controlled by Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration and the Ministry of National Defense rather than the Taipei city government. Passenger traffic also rebounded after an earlier slump, while expansion at Taoyuan International Airport — the main alternative often cited in relocation plans — has been delayed for years. Songshan also still serves military, offshore-island, and diversion functions. BlockTempo said this round differs in several ways: Chiang is the sitting mayor, the city has framed the site as industrial land for AI rather than park space, and it has offered estimates including 65,000 jobs and 570 hectares of urban renewal areas affected by height restrictions. Still, central government officials said Taipei had not discussed the plan with them in advance, and key questions, including where military units would go, remain unresolved.