Firm vows to complete airport link

Despite the financial difficulties of its biggest shareholder, Evertransit International Development Corp (長生國際開發) yesterday vowed to complete the construction of a mass rapid transit link connecting CKS International Airport to Taipei City.

Evertransit, the builder of the proposed transit link, which is slated to begin operations in 2008, said its shareholders' meeting in early July agreed to raise its paid-in capital from the current NT$2.6 billion to NT$8 billion by year's end and to NT$25 billion by the end of next year, when construction begins.

"Evertransit is confident of facilitating the contract's final draft next week and inking it with the government by year's end," said Roger Sun (孫麟), executive vice president of Evertransit.

"We're financially viable to continue the project," Sun told the Taipei Times yesterday afternoon after attending a negotiating session with the Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail (高鐵局) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

He said that the only unsolved dispute between the company and the government is whether Evertransit is required to secure a fund of NT$32.5 billion -- 25 percent of its NT$130 budget slated for land acquisition.

He said he is optimistic that both parties' legal experts will come up with a solution before Aug. 9, so as to complete the contract's final draft.

With a fixed construction fee of NT$80 billion, Evertransit yesterday was accused of hiking its slated costs for land acquisition from NT$41 billion to NT$130 billion, driving up the total cost from NT$120 billion to NT$230 billion.

In response, Sun explained that the total cost for land acquisition remains the same except for the change of cash flow, since many landlords now prefer cash in hand to new shares of land after re-zoning is completed.

Sun is also optimistic that the price of land acquired along the rail's route will rise to the benefit of the company after the project is completed.

Respecting due process, Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Tsai Tuei (蔡堆) yesterday reiterated that Evertransit is still entitled to the priority right to negotiate contract with the government for the build-operate-transfer rail link.

Quoting Minister Lin Ling-san (林陵三), Tsai added that the government would help Evertransit finance a syndicated loan of NT$50 billion from banks.

The ministry had previously threatened to award the project to the No. 2 bidder, BES Engineering Corp (中華工程), or to re-open the bidding, if Evertransit fails to secure the necessary financial support.

Local media, however, yesterday reported that BES Engineering may no longer be interested in taking over the project due to problems financing the transit link..

But a high-ranking manager of the company, who refused to be identified, yesterday told the Taipei Times that BES Engineering remains interested in taking over.

"Our original blueprint may not work now, so we do need to re-evaluate the project before making a decision," the source said.

Upon completion, the 37km rail system will have 19 stations, including three along a branch line to Linkou, with tickets costing around NT$120 per person.

A commuting time of 35 minutes from the Hsimenting MRT station in downtown Taipei to the airport is planned.