On January 5, 2026, the Nantong Public Resource Trading Platform successively released two heavyweight bidding announcements, marking a substantial new stage of promotion for the highly anticipated Nantong New Airport and its supporting hub project. According to the announcement, this national level regional hub airport, which is positioned as an important component of Shanghai International Aviation Hub, has been clearly planned to start construction in 2027. At the same time, the Shanghai Chongqing Chengdu high-speed railway along the Yangtze River is also planned to be put into operation in the same year, and the construction of the two major transportation arteries is closely linked, laying a solid foundation for building a modern comprehensive transportation system in the Yangtze River Delta.

The location of Nantong New Airport is in Erjia Town, Tongzhou District, with a planned control area of approximately 140 square kilometers. Its scale can be called a super project: planning and constructing two runways with a length of 3600 meters, including the highest level 4F runway and a 520000 square meter terminal building. The design goal is ambitious, with an estimated annual passenger throughput of 40 million and cargo and mail throughput of 500000 tons by 2035, with the potential to expand to 80 million in the long term. This positioning and scale will not only reshape the aviation pattern of the Yangtze River Delta region and become a new driving force for cross river integration in regional development, but also greatly enhance Nantong's position in the regional economic map.

Building an intercity crossroads in the Yangtze River Delta region

The key carrier for achieving seamless transfer between air and rail is the Haimen North Station Comprehensive Transportation Hub Project, which is being tendered and promoted simultaneously with the main airport project. The station is located in Sanxing Town, Haimen District, with a superior geographical location, about 13 kilometers away from Haimen City and about 11.5 kilometers away from Tongzhou City. It will become a core transportation node serving multiple districts and the eastern part of Nantong's main city.

The core design of Haimen North Station is to form an efficient air rail linkage with the new airport. By planning and constructing GTC, the high-speed railway station and airport terminal will be seamlessly connected. In the future, after passengers get off at Haimen North Station, they can transfer to subway and other transportation methods, and it is expected to take only about 10 minutes to directly reach the airport terminal, greatly improving transfer efficiency and travel experience. With the opening of the Shanghai Chongqing Chengdu high-speed railway along the Yangtze River in 2027, Haimen North Station will become an important intersection in the Yangtze River Delta intercity railway network. From here, it takes about an hour to reach the core cities of the Yangtze River Delta, such as Nanjing and Hangzhou, providing strong core support for the efficient flow of people and logistics between regions. Keywords: infrastructure engineering, aviation, high-speed rail

The coordinated construction of Nantong New Airport and Haimen North Station comprehensive hub is a key measure for Nantong to seize major strategic opportunities and enhance urban level. The completion of this air rail integrated super hub will not only completely rewrite the transportation pattern of Nantong and even the northern Jiangsu region, but also inject unprecedented strong momentum into Nantong's deep integration into the development of the Yangtze River Delta integration and the creation of a new economic growth pole.Editor/Cheng Liting