The Cabinet is preparing a plan that would budget NT$800 billion (US$25.76 million) for infrastructure spending, primarily on the modernization and construction of railways, a senior Cabinet official who spoke on condition of anonymity said yesterday.
The Cabinet is in the process of finalizing the details of the “far vision infrastructure plan,” which is to be submitted to lawmakers some time after the legislature meets for its next session on Friday, the official said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) considers revitalizing the economy an important goal of her administration and the infrastructure plan is high on its legislative agenda, the official said.
Railway modernization and construction proposals include constructing a straight railway between Taipei and Yilan and laying a double-track railway on the east coast, in addition to replacing some ground-level sections of track with elevated or underground sections, the official said.
The proposal would see about NT$400 billion spent on railways, with the remainder of the plan’s budget to be divided between renewable energy projects, water engineering, the IT sector and urban and rural development programs, the official said.
The government’s plan would facilitate the investment of from NT$300 billion to NT$400 billion in renewable energy, with Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) playing a lead role in solar power plants and offshore wind turbines, the official said, adding that China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) and CSBC Corp (中船) are also to invest in solar and wind energy.
The IT component of the plan would involve the building of 4G and 5G broadband networks, investments in both landline and wireless infrastructure and funding for IT education, the official said.
The water engineering proposals include civil engineering projects for the nation’s rivers and reservoirs, the official said.
The Cabinet expects to finance most of the proposals via special budgets, with the exception of investment in the renewable energy sector, which would involve the private sector, the official said.
The reason for financing the plan with special budgets instead of supplementary budgets is to enable lawmakers to deliberate the proposals across fiscal years, which would give the public time to understand the details of the policy, the official said, adding that the plan is to be drafted as a special statute.
The government believes stimulus spending delivered to viable and appropriate programs would go a long way toward restoring the nation’s economic dynamism, the official said.
The Cabinet expects to complete a formal proposal for the infrastructure plan and submit it to the legislature by late next month, and Premier Lin Chuan (林全) is to decide whether the special budget is to be spent over a period of four years, six years or eight years, sources said.
The precise figure for the plan’s total cost is still being calculated, and variables such as whether projects are removed from the plan as they are to be covered by the government’s annual spending might reduce the estimated cost, National Development Council Minister Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) said.
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