The following article comes from the East China Bureau, author Liu Chang

East China Bureau.

Be an observer, thinker and builder of higher-quality Yangtze River Delta integration.

Recently, the bidding project for the preparation and submission of the site selection report and feasibility study report (including topics) of Suzhou General Airport (tentative name) was officially open for bidding, with a project budget of RMB 8 million. According to the requirements of the notice, potential bidders should obtain bidding documents from the Suzhou State-owned Enterprise Procurement and Transaction Management Platform and submit bidding documents before 14:30 on April 7, 2024.

近年来，"Suzhou Meiyou Airport"（谐音“苏州没有机场”）成为网络上的“热梗”。甚至有网友进一步延伸，称苏州还有两个机场——** 苏州相耀机场、苏州赞吴机场** 。“相耀”“赞吴”分别为“想要”和“暂无”的谐音。作为中国“经济十强城市”，GDP超两万亿元、人口超千万的苏州，在机场这件事上一直“意难平”。

This time, is Suzhou Airport really coming?

Is the time here?

Speaking of the story of Suzhou and the airport, it may go back to 1932. At that time, the Songhu Anti-Japanese War broke out. In order to fight against the Japanese army, it was planned to build an airport near the barracks of the former Sixth Regiment of the Third Brigade of the Second Division of the Jiangsu Army (referred to as the Sixth Regiment) near the Mudu Bridge. According to newspaper reports at the time, it was initially required to complete the project in three days. Later, the site was expanded and completed in 12 days. Later, he also wanted to expand it and develop civil aviation, but soon the war of resistance broke out in full swing and it was lost. During the Anti-Japanese War, this airport withstood a lot of Japanese artillery fire and was finally officially demolished in 1948.

Until October 1975, Guangfu Town built the Air Force Guangfu Airport, and the Air Force Flight Regiment stationed in Guangfu Station. In 1992, the state agreed to Guangfu Airport to carry out civil air transportation. In 1994, the airport opened flights from Suzhou to Foshan and Suzhou to Beijing, once a week. On Tuesday morning, the joint flight flew from Beijing Airport to Guangfu, then from Guangfu Airport to Foshan, Guangdong, and in the afternoon from Foshan, Guangdong back to Guangfu, and then from Guangfu to Beijing, but it operated for 8 years and 8 months. In October 2002, the civil transportation function of Suzhou Guangfu Airport was closed.

2004年对于苏州谋划建设机场来说是关键的一年。江苏省两会期间，江苏省有关部门表示，苏南国际机场的建设已经列入2004年的江苏省重点项目计划之中。而几乎在相同时间，在一份刚刚出炉的《苏州市2004年重点前期项目计划》中， Suzhou Airport Project was listed first 。据当时《东方早报》报道，苏州市有关方面将根据该市经济与社会发展趋势，研究建设机场的可行性与建设规模，并在年内开展项目的前期研究工作。

The airport war in the Yangtze River Delta probably began in those years. Since 2003, there has been rumors that three more airports will be built on the 273-kilometer Shanghai-Nanjing line, Suzhou will build a cargo airport, Wuxi will build an international airport, and Shuofang Airport will be rebuilt at the same time. At that time, the Yangtze River Delta region had an airport density of 0.8 per 10,000 square kilometers, making it one of the regions with the highest airport density in the world. However, many cities still had a strong desire to invest in building airports.

The news of Suzhou Airport in 2004 aroused many people's worries, which were related to money:With such high investment, can economic benefits be realized? It is also related to the Yangtze River Delta. Is it "duplicate construction" to compete with other large airports and compete for customers? Suzhou