The Taipei City Government yesterday signed a contract with Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) to lease one of its most valuable properties in Xinyi District (信義), Taipei, to the company, with a new landmark building expected to create about 10,000 jobs and boost the economy upon its completion in seven years.
The company won the bid for the 5,357 ping (17,709m2) property, which houses the Taipei World Trade Center’s Hall No. 2, with a record royalty of NT$26.8 billion (US$894 million). The lease of public land is a key project for the city government to speed up urban renewal and generate revenue.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the “Nan Shan Plaza” would attract more than NT$40 billion in private business, while generating revenue of more than NT$220 million every year for the city government.
“The nation is still fighting the economic recession. We are concerned about the situation, but not worried. The Nan Shan Plaza project will create job opportunities and boost the economy, and the city government will continue its efforts to encourage private investments in large-scale development projects,” Hau said yesterday at a signing ceremony at Taipei City Hall.
Du Ying-tzyong (杜英宗), Nan Shan’s vice chairman, said the company aimed to make the plaza, which will house retail and entertainment facilities, as well as cultural venues including a museum, an international landmark that would attract corporations to set up their headquarters and boost reputations.
Nan Shan plans to work with Mitsubishi Estate, architect of the Omotesando in Tokyo, and Jones Lang LaSalle, a former leasing agent for Taipei 101, to construct new buildings with towers of 28 stories and 36 stories.
Du declined to comment on the company’s ambition to surpass Taipei 101 with the plaza’s architectural style and in terms of the cost of renting office space, but said the company is confident that the buildings would help boost economic value for the company.
Taipei City’s Department of Finance said yesterday that it is planning another auction — for the city’s remaining property in Xinyi District.
Department of Finance Commissioner Chiu Da-chan (邱大展) said the department would start accepting bids for the land, which is near the Taiwan Petroleum Corp building, by the end of this year.
The bidding process will be finalized next year, with the starting price at about NT$20 billion, he said.
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