Lu hopes El Salvador park can be finished by 2008

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) expressed hope yesterday that a proposed Taiwan industrial park in El Salvador can be completed in three years.

Lu made the remarks at a press conference on the El Salvador Taiwan Park during which she and her counterpart from El Salvador, Ana Vilma Albanez de Escobar, agreed that both countries will step up efforts on the ambitious program so as to see initial results in three years.

Lu said the government has set up an organization task force, with Vice Premier Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) serving as the convener and Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairman Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正) serving as the executive director.

Under the program, El Salvador will supply 114 hectares of national land near Comalapa Airport and will allow Taiwan to develop an industrial park there under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. In the second stage, El Salvador will select other suitable land to develop agricultural and aquacultural sectors, and will provide incentives on land and taxes, Lu said.

It is hoped that the Taiwan Park will help local businesses to expand globally, Lu said, adding that state-owned enterprises will be the first to be stationed in the park.

Albanez de Escobar noted that Central America is currently discussing the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US. If the FTA is signed, Central America will provide a springboard for businesses seeking to make inroads into North America, she said.

She said El Salvador will provide land, 10-year tax-free treatment and other tariff incentives.

Lu said that both governments will sign a cooperation agreement to ensure Taiwanese investment in the park, adding that the Salvadoran government will approve Taiwanese businesspeople's residency and working rights and will provide personal security as well as investment incentives.

Heading a 14-member delegation, Albanez de Escobar, the first female vice president of El Salvador, arrived in Taipei on Monday for a five-day visit.