Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s proposal to close Songshan Airport would reserve 110 hectares for a public park, with feasibility and preliminary planning required before basic design.
Chiang announced the plan Oct. 8. It assigns 110 hectares to Taipei Central Park, 100 hectares to an AI industry cluster and 90 hectares to a residential area. The proposed park would cover more than four times the area of Daan Forest Park.
Chiang presented the redevelopment proposal to the Taipei City Council on Oct. 21. On Monday, Kuomintang City Councilor Chin Huei-chu brought representatives from several city departments to a public hearing to ask who was responsible for park planning and when the work began.
A representative of the Taipei City Parks and Streetlights Office said the project must pass through a feasibility study and preliminary planning before it can move to basic design. The representative said the office started its work after the city sent it information about the proposal on Oct. 8.
Officials at the hearing said the Department of Economic Development assembled the broader redevelopment plan. Initial concepts call for recreation space around a central lawn alongside a wetland conservation area. Tree planting could create an urban forest, while other proposed features include an agricultural area for hands-on farming, a management center and a place to commemorate the site’s history.
