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Premier Liu causes stir with Suhua comments

SOURCE: THE LIBERTY TIMES AND THE TAIPEI TIMES

Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) caused an uproar yesterday after he announced in Hualien that the government would resume construction of a part of the Suhua Freeway (蘇花高速公路) “that was less controversial,” only to backpedal later in the day with a ministry official saying that what Liu had meant was that an alternative to dangerous sections of road would be built.

During a visit to the Hualien County Government yesterday, Liu, accompanied by Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山), said: “The Executive Yuan has decided to begin building part of the freeway this year, in response to calls by residents of eastern Taiwan. This will allow them to drive home safely.”

Liu said the decision was also based on repeated appeals by legislators representing eastern Taiwan, as well as Hsieh.

The disputed Suhua Freeway construction project, proposed more than a decade ago, has been stalled as a result of failure to pass the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) environmental impact evaluation.

The former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration had opposed the development of the 89km freeway, arguing that the project could cause an “ecological calamity” in the last unspoiled areas of the country.

Supporters of the project, including Hualien tourism associations and Aboriginal legislators, argued that the proposed freeway would considerably cut the travel time to Taipei and thus help boost the area’s struggling economy. Opponents, however, question the necessity of the freeway, saying it would impede national plans for sustainable development in the east.

The fate of the freeway construction project had been in doubt after the former DPP government in late March fine-tuned the Outline for Sustainable Development of the East, which did not favor construction of the controversial route connecting Hualien and Ilan.

The EPA’s environmental impact assessment committee also ruled on April 25 that the proposal should be returned to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), which meant that the MOTC would have to start the environmental impact assessment from scratch after obtaining the approval of the Cabinet.

Liu said yesterday the Cabinet acknowledged the need to push construction at “the most dangerous section” of the project after a thorough discussion with the MOTC, even though the environmental impact assessment of the project had yet to be approved.

Liu did not elaborate on what he meant by “the most dangerous section.”

Later yesterday, high-ranking officials modified the premier’s remarks and said the plan constituted a project to build an “alternative road.”

Cabinet Spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said Liu was referring to the government’s plan to build an “alternative road on the dangerous section” of the existing Suhua Highway (蘇花公路) rather than the Suhua Freeway project.

Even though the new road could overlap with certain sections of the planned Suhua expressway, it should not be seen as part of the initial project, as there is no Suhua expressway per se, she said.

The Suhua Highway is the only highway connecting Suao and Hualien, but the road often suffers cave-ins during typhoons. Shih said the Cabinet would refer the “alternative road” plan to the EPA for an environmental impact assessment, adding that budget requests would also be proposed.

Separately, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) sought to clarify Liu’s comments yesterday.

The proposal was not to build the Suhua Freeway, but rather to improve the condition of the Suhua Highway, also known as Provincial Highway No. 9, he said.

“The construction we are talking about is different from that of the Suhua Freeway, which also means something different,” he said. “You could say this is a substitute route for the Suhua Highway.”

Mao said the policy was to give residents in Hualien and Taitung a safe way home.

Citing statistics from the Directorate General of Highways, Mao said the 20km stretch from Nanao (南澳) to Hoping (和平) between Suao (蘇澳) and Hualien was either closed or had only one lane open to traffic about 50 days per year.

By comparison, the sections between Suao and Nanao and between Hoping and Chungte (崇德) were closed less than 10 times a year. The Nanao-Hoping section had therefore become the top priority, he said.

Mao said tunnels would be built in the Nanao-Hoping section to improve road conditions.

Mao said the design had yet to be reviewed by the EPA environmental impact assessment committee, adding that it could be four to five years before construction was complete. It could take another one to two years before the tunnel can be officially opened for traffic.

The cost of the project is estimated at NT$30 billion (US$1 billion), he said.

“Even if we submitted the initial design without any changes, the section would generate little controversy,” he said. “The quality would be comparable to that of a freeway.”

In November, a survey of the Directorate General of Highways found there were 35 locations on the Suhua Highway where landslides were frequent. Twenty were along the Nanao-Hoping section.

Mao said the ministry would continue to improve service at other transportation systems, including railways.
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