In Heilongjiang Hegang, where you can buy a house for just 20 to 30 thousand yuan (Chinese Renminbi, RMB), resources are depleting and the population is only 890,000 according to 2020 census data. The city’s airport construction is about to start, creating a stark contrast with Suzhou, one of the top ten cities in GDP, which has repeatedly requested the authorities to build an airport, only to be rejected every time.
According to recent news from the WeChat public account “Hegang Releases,” the civil aviation Northeast Regional Administration and the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Transportation have jointly approved the preliminary design of the new Hegang Luobei Airport. This signifies that the preliminary work for the airport has been basically completed and it is about to enter the full construction phase.
As per information released by the local authorities, the new airport in Hegang is designed to accommodate an annual passenger throughput of 450,000 and an annual cargo throughput of 1,600 tons, with a flight area index of 4C. The main construction projects include a 2,500-meter long, 45-meter wide runway, 7 apron parking spaces, a 5,008 square meter terminal building, a 2,980 square meter airport comprehensive building, as well as supporting facilities such as air traffic control, fuel supply, power supply, water supply, and fire rescue.
Reported by “China News Weekly,” industry insiders revealed that small cities like Hegang, in order to kick off their airports, often require financial subsidies from the government to airlines to encourage them to open new local routes, especially in cities with relatively small populations. After the new airport is completed, the local government may need to provide route subsidies for a period of time to maintain a certain number of flight routes.
This resource-based shrinking city is a concrete representation of Northeast China, with its population continuously declining. The average housing price in Hegang has now dropped below 2,000 RMB per square meter, ranking among the lowest in cities at or above the prefectural level nationwide. Hegang’s GDP has been fluctuating over the past decade, contracting again in the last two years, with last year’s GDP falling to 37.63 billion RMB.
In terms of population, like many other cities in Northeast China, Hegang no longer discloses data on permanent residents. According to the seventh national population census data released, Hegang’s permanent resident population decreased by 167,000 from 2010 to 2020.
For cities that have experienced continuous negative population growth for years, the necessity of building an airport has become a point of doubt for many.
Reported by “Gongfu Finance,” known as the “first platform for collective self-media in China’s finance and economics,” the airport construction process involves site selection approval, followed by the submission of a project proposal to the Central Military Commission. In 2022, Hegang Airport received joint approval from the State Council and the Central Military Commission. After the approval from the Military Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission will then give its approval, leading to a groundbreaking ceremony.
According to the “14th Five-Year Plan for Development of Civil Aviation” jointly issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Transport, not only Hegang but also cities like Siping, Suihua, Loudi, Zhoukou, Yuxi, Linxia, Wuwei, Hengshui, Jincheng, Zibo, Jingmen, Guigang, Guang’an, Shangluo, Neijiang, among others, are planning to build airports.
Sichuan’s Guang’an Airport was approved for construction in May of last year. Since last year, several airports have been approved by the authorities, such as Baoji Airport in Shaanxi and Yangjiang Airport in Guangdong.
It is worth mentioning that Suzhou, with a population exceeding 10 million and a GDP surpassing 2 trillion RMB, does not have its own airport. Surprisingly, among the top ten cities in terms of GDP, three cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu) have dual airports.
Public records show that since the 1980s, Suzhou has proposed to the central government for airport construction no less than five times, with each request being rejected.
In 2019, Suzhou raised concerns to the management about the substantial demand for aviation transport in Suzhou and the high public demand for the construction of Suzhou Airport. Considering the saturation of both major airports in Shanghai, support was requested to plan and build Suzhou Airport, urging its inclusion in national planning as soon as possible.
On September 2, 2020, the official website of the National Department of Transportation issued the “Opinions on Implementing the Quality Engineering Construction and Traffic Powerhouse Construction Pilot Work in Jiangsu Province,” explicitly stating to accelerate the planning and construction of Suzhou Airport. However, the following day, this statement was removed.
Internet users joked that a Suzhou airport should be named “Suzhou Meiyoubutou Airport.”
Suzhou has been planning for an airport for decades but has yet to realize it. Some say that Shanghai is not willing to see Suzhou develop an airport, as it would lead to a loss of Suzhou’s aviation demand and to some extent weaken the hub status of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
When Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai was rumored to be saturated in 2000, Suzhou proposed airport construction, but there was no response. Eventually, Hongqiao Airport underwent expansion.