The Civil Aeronautics Adminis-tration (CAA) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communi-cations has ruled out building an international airport in southern Taiwan in the short term, according to a CAA spokesman.
The decision was reached during a CAA meeting Thursday on the grounds that there is no immediate need for such a facility in the region, the spokesman said.
Although Chiku township in Tainan County and the Nanhsing Project in Kaohsiung City are vying to become home to an international airport, the spokesman said that no timetable has been set to decide on the airport's location, as such a construction project requires long-term and comprehensive evaluation and the local authorities must first remove any hurdles.
For instance, if the airport were constructed in Chiku, the Tainan County Government would have to find ways to resolve problems arising from its brine ponds and the conservation of the endangered black-faced spoonbills that winter there, he said.
On the other hand, if the airport were located in Nanhsing, the Kaohsiung City Government would need to iron out a comprehensive and detailed blueprint about its plans to reclaim land and submit an environmental impact assessment regarding its marine ecology and climate factors, he said.
RSS