Science park to be set up by 2004

Firms from industries relating to aviation engineering, precision apparatus production, biotechnology, photo-electronic engineering and communications, may have the opportunity to relocate to a planned science-based industrial park in central Taiwan as early as July 2004, officials at the National Science Council (NSC) said yesterday.

When NSC vice chairman Huang Wen-hsiung (黃文雄) inspected a site at the border dividing Taichung City and Taichung County, one of two bases for the planned park, he said Taiwan's experience building similar parks in Hsinchu and Tainan would be the foundation for future projects.

"We've done our best to prepare and hopefully high-tech firms will be stationed in the park in July, 2004," Huang said.

According to Huang, the project, proposed by the NSC, will be evaluated next week by the Cabinet's Council for Economic, Planning, and Development.

After the project is approved, Huang said, it's expected that the park's development office would be put together in September to map out details of the project.

The planned park, composed of two sites, with 304 hectares in Taichung County and 98 hectares in Yunlin County, will be Taiwan's third science-based industrial park.

Based on previous experience, the NSC selected the two sites based on their advantages, including a convenient transportation network under construction, feasible land requisition and ideal geological conditions.

For example, difficulties previously encountered by a 1038-hectare precursor in Tainan, an operation that began in 1998, included local opposition pertaining to land requisition, the lack of an ensured water supply, a lack of flooding prevention measures and a controversy over possible vibrations created by the passage of the first high speed railroad.

According to local authorities, the preparation for the establishment of the park went well because pursuing future prosperity is a common goal for both local governments and residents.

"We can ensure that the construction of main lines connecting the park to the harbor or the airport will be carried out without difficulty," said Liao Te-tao (廖德淘), director of Bureau of Economic Development of Taichung City Government.

According to the NSC's idea, 40 percent of the firms that would be stationed at the Taichung site would be related to aviation engineering and precision apparatus production, while 60 percent of firms being stationed at Yunlin base would be related to biotechnology.

"A conference being co-hosted by Taichung city and county governments in mid-September will be a clear demonstration of central Taiwan's potential for developing high-tech industries," said Lai Ying-hsi (賴英錫), an official from the Taichung County Government.

The annual output of the existing 14,000 firms pertaining to precision apparatus production, NSC officials said, ranks fourth in the world.

In Yunlin County, a 98-hectare sugarcane field managed by state-run Taiwan Sugar Co will soon be transferred to firms working on the R&D of agriculture-related bio-technology.

"We have two pluses here," said Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄), an official from the Yunlin County Government. "One is the establishment of a branch of the leading National Taiwan University. The other is a development project surrounding the passage of the high-speed railroad."

National Taiwan University plans to build a branch here to house a graduate schools of medicine, agriculture and engineering. In addition, a hospital run by the university will be built on a site covering 60 hectares.