"Under the new water management plan, the height of the flood walls will be raised by 2.5m to 3m," Lee said. "An extra 10 pumping stations will be installed ... as well as additional soil preservation measures on mountain slopes and flood prevention dams" along the reaches of some of the major tributaries.
After the project is completed, "Flooding won't be stopped ... the danger and possibility of flooding will be reduced," Lee said, adding that the new measures would also provide relief for Juifang and Keelung.
The project is in the final stages of planning and, after Executive Yuan approval, will likely begin in mid-2001 and should be completed within five to six years, after which time property prices in Hsichih should begin to rebound, Lee said.
But Yuan Shao-cheng, (袁紹增) an analyst at National Securities, said that the government's plan is "useless."
"Higher walls along the Keelung River and its tributaries can't stop water running down from the mountains and flooding the town," Yuan said.
And installing "extra pumping stations means that cleanup time might be shortened, but it wouldn't have a significant impact on reducing the danger of flooding," he added.
While it may be hard to see prices falling in Hsichih -- few sales makes it difficult to discern the property market's movement -- Yuan said that the town's flood history will keep prices low and flat indefinitely.
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