TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Kaohsiung should have a new 24-hour airport built on land reclaimed from the sea, DPP mayoral candidate Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said Thursday.
In an interview with UDN, the contender in the Nov. 28 mayoral election said southern Taiwan should have a large airport operating 24 hours a day. The new gateway would help the regional economy take a major leap forward, he said.
Lai insisted that the project for a new international gateway on reclaimed land would not affect the existing airport in Xiaogang District, the Liberty Times reported. Several major cities have two airports, he added, citing Tokyo with Narita and Haneda, Seoul with Gimpo and Incheon, and Taipei with Songshan and Taoyuan.
Xiaogang was already expanding with a new terminal and more international routes, he said. The central government invested NT$88.08 billion (US$2.75 billion) into the terminal with the intent of achieving 16.5 million passengers per year, the Liberty Times said. Lai said the Xiaogang upgrade will help provide better services to travelers from southern Taiwan.
He said the new airport should be built on reclaimed land to keep the inconvenience for Kaohsiung residents to a minimum. The airport would meet the needs of growing international business investment in the city, Lai said.
Lai added that the development of semiconductors, AI, and congress tourism in Kaohsiung were several reasons why a second airport would be successful, the Liberty Times reported.
