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Second phase of flood measures to start next year

The Cabinet will carry out the second phase of a national flood control and management project starting next year, with the goal of completing work in 90 percent of targeted areas by the end of June, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said yesterday.

At a weekly Cabinet meeting, Chang said that the project had been laid out by the Cabinet in July 2005 in response to a significant increase in inclement weather as a result of global climate change.

The project, which involves a series of measures to clean up rivers and improve regional drainage systems and sea dams in flood-prone areas, is being carried out in three phases over an eight-year period, Chang said.

The nation has 1,150km2 of land designated as flood-prone.

The project prioritizes the 500km2 of land where improvements are most urgently needed, Chang said.

During the 15 months since the project's launch, flood-prone areas have done better in the face of inclement weather, Chang said, adding this proved the project had been effective.

In the second phase of the project, workers will continue to remove silt from flood-prone sections of rivers and drainage systems, among other measures, Chang said.

To ensure that a budget for the second phase of the project passes the legislature, the premier instructed the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics to discuss the necessity of the work with party caucuses.
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