Construction of a mass rapid transit (MRT) system connecting CKS International Airport and Taipei City is scheduled to be completed in four years and open to public traffic by the end of 2008, the Ministry of Transporta-tion and Communications reported yesterday.
Lee Lung-wen (李龍文), director of the Department of Railways and Highways, denied allegations by some lawmakers that the CKS-Taipei MRT development project will be shelved due to insufficient budget support.
People First Party legislators Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) and Ke Shu-min (柯淑敏) called a press conference yesterday to publicize their claims that the project will be shelved due to lack of budget and controversy surrounding the design of the approach sections.
Lee, however, said the ministry has never said that the project will be postponed, adding that it will be carried out as previously scheduled now that the budget plans for the five-year, NT$500 billion (US$14.7 billion) national development plan -- better known as the "Ten New Major Construction Plans" -- have cleared the legislative floor.
The development of the MRT system -- starting from the Hsimen MRT station and cutting through Sanchung, Wuku, HsinChuang, Taishan and Linkou townships -- calls for an outlay totaling NT$93.56 billion.
Of the total, NT$47 billion is covered under the "Ten New Major Construction Plans," while the remaining NT$46.56 billion will be financed by the ministry's regular annual budget, he said.
Last October, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said the plans for a MRT system linking the airport with Taipei City would cost the central government NT$82.9 billion in construction costs.
Work will begin as soon as the construction plans, contractors and subcontractors are finalized, said Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail Director-General Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒).
The disputed issue on the proposed 35km-project -- whether the approach section entering Taipei City should be built overground or underground -- is still under discussion, Ho said.
The government scrapped a six-year effort to have private contractors construct the rail system on a build-operate-transfer basis in May last year.
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