An international developer bidding to build a casino resort on Matsu yesterday said it has budgeted US$2.5 billion to construct supporting infrastructure.
This will remove the biggest obstacle facing Matsu’s development: a lack of transportation infrastructure, Weidner Resorts chairman and CEO William Weidner said.
The money would be used mainly to upgrade Beigan Airport so that it can handle larger aircraft such as Airbus SAS’ A320s and Boeing Co’s 747s, Weidner said.
Photo: Tsai Wei-chi, Taipei Times
A bridge connecting the Matsu chain’s Beigan and Nangan islands, a ferry harbor and a yacht terminal would also be built, he said.
“[The project] will develop Matsu’s infrastructure and help connect it to the rest of the world,” Weidner said.
He said that the US$2.5 billion, which is part of the US$8 billion in funds for the entire project, came from Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse.
Weidner said the resort could generate 70,000 job opportunities.
Matsu County residents approved a referendum in July last year allowing casinos to be built on the island chain.
However, such projects cannot proceed until a bill governing the operation of casinos is passed by the legislature.
The Cabinet is currently working on drafting legislation toward that end.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot. However, the charcoal they were making is known as “green,” and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation. Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and central Africa, is steadily turning to desert. It has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover since the 1970s, hit by climate change and overexploitation of trees for household uses such as cooking, officials say. “Green charcoal” aims to protect what