Technology park to be developed in Chiayi County

A new industrial park for precision instrument makers will likely be developed in Chiayi County this year to create another high-tech manufacturing region in the southern part of the country, Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said yesterday.

Twenty-four companies have expressed an interest in investing in the new industrial park. The companies are scheduled to meet Chiayi County officials on Thursday to sign letters of intent on their planned investment, Chen said.

A potential industrial park covering an area of 439 hectares in Tapumei (大埔美), Talin Township (大林), near the Formosa Freeway's Meishan Interchange, was first zoned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2000 as the future site.

The development project, however, failed to get off the ground until last year, when the Chiayi County Government decided to alter its plans and turn the area into a center for biotechnology manufacturing and precision instrument production, Chen said.

Eighty-six hectares of land were re-zoned as a future biotech manufacturing center, with land preparation work starting in June last year, Chen said.

He added that some 150 hectares of land at the site had recently been re-zoned for precision instrument manufacturing companies.

Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) and executives of the Precision Machinery Development Association of Taiwan (精密機械發展協會) are expected to travel to Talin on Thursday to witness the signing of letters of intent, Chen said.