An airport runway park is to be constructed over the former site of the Dajiaochang Airport in Nanjing, local sources said Wednesday. The Dajiaochang Airport closed operation in 2015.
Nanjing Southern New Town Development Management Committee and Nanjing Planning Bureau officially launched on Wednesday the international solicitation for the design plan of the airport runway park. Five well-known domestic and foreign design teams were invited to compete, and each team will present their plans by combing cultural event and space landscape design which will also strengthen the protection and update for the runway. Two winning teams will be selected to optimize their plans before the final plan is decided.
Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport was a military air base that also served as the main public airport for Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province and former capital of the Republic of China. It is located 6.2 kilometers south of Xinjiekou, the center of Nanjing, and is surrounded on three sides by the Qinhuai River.
On 28 June 1997 Nanjing Lukou International Airport was opened and all civil flights were transferred to the new airport. Dajiaochang Airport remained in use as a military air base. On 8 August 2012, construction began for Nanjing Luhe Airport. After Luhe Airport was opened in July 2015 and the Nanjing Air Base transferred to the new airport, Dajiaochang Airport was closed on 30 July 2015. It will be redeveloped into a commercial and residential area, and its historic runway will be conserved as a public open space.
