The state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday announced it would start accepting bids for the auction of superficies rights to a premium plot of land that sits in the heart of the hot springs town of Jiaosi (礁溪) in Yilan County on Aug. 31.
“I am not too surprised to see a full house of potential bidders in the pre-auction briefing on the plot of land because it offers tremendous market value,” Taipower vice president Lin Hung-yuan (林宏遠) said at a press conference in Taipei.
The superficies rights auction, Taipower’s first for this year, is in line with the company’s policy to increase utilization of its idle or underused real-estate assets to bring in additional income, Lin said, adding that the company would auction the superficies rights of more land in the future.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
“Jiaosi has become a popular destination for international visitors, especially tourists from Singapore, Hong Kong and China, attracting 5.4 million visitors last year — almost the same number of foreign tourists who visited Taiwan last year,” said Andrew Liu (劉學龍), managing director of Colliers International Taiwan Ltd, a property consulting company that is managing the auction.
Joey Yuan (袁嘉隆), a Colliers Taiwan director of valuation and advisory services, said the plot was highly suitable for building a luxury hot springs hotel because of its location and size.
The plot sits at the intersection of Jiaosi Road and Wuncyuan Road, about 300m from the train station and five minutes from Toucheng Interchange on Freeway No. 5, Yuan said.
With a plot area of 795.7 ping (2,630m2), 60 percent building coverage ratio and 240 percent plot ratio (or gross floor area ratio), the current assessed land value of the plot is NT$203 million (US$6.77 million), Yuan said, adding the lot was now empty, with some vegetation on it.
The land can be used to build hotel, retail and commercial facilities, residential houses, offices and entertainment facilities, Yuan said.
Submissions of bids will begin on Aug. 31 and close on Oct. 15, and if everything goes smoothly, the land transfer will take place in November, Yuan said, adding that whoever secures the rights can use the land for 50 years, with a maximum extension of another 20 years.
Kathryn Lin (林雅悅), a Colliers Taiwan associate director of valuation and advisory services, said the starting price for the bidding was tentatively set at NT$210 million.
Taipower is likely to auction the superficies rights to two other plots of land located near Jiaosi — one measuring 790 ping and the other more than 1,000 ping — in the first half of next year, Lin said.
Another two plots in Nangang District (南港), Taipei, each of which is about 3.6 hectares, might be auctioned next, he said.
Taipower might auction one of the plots, which is currently being used as a warehouse, in 2014. It has an assessed value of about NT$27.9 billion, while the other plot, which is currently being used as a repair and maintenance center, will not be vacated until after 2016, he added.
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