President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) lauded the successful flood prevention project along the Keelung River in northern Taiwan as one of the achievements of his government during an inspection tour of the project yesterday.
Chen’s visit to the Yuanshantze flood diversion tunnel (員山仔分洪道) was part of the government’s emergency preparation efforts against flooding as the typhoon season — May to November — approaches.
The Yuanshantze flood diversion tunnel, located in Taipei County’s Jueifang Township (瑞芳), was completed in 2005 at a cost of NT$6 billion (US$198 million). It channels water from the Keeling River as it rises to the sea and thus prevents flooding, which was a serious problem along the course of the river, especially in Taipei County’s Sijhih (汐止) and Jueifang townships and neighboring Keelung City.
Water Resources Agency Director-General Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) said the project has passed the test of several typhoons and bouts of heavy rainfall and is a good example of river flood control in Taiwan. The 2 million people living close to the river can now be assured that their homes are safe from flooding, he said.
“Time and facts have proved the success of the Keelung River flood control project and this was achieved by the current government,” President Chen said.
The president said that unlike ineffective measures, such as raising the river embankment and widening the watercourses that were attempted by the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, the flood diversion tunnel has been effective and has allayed people’s fear of flooding.
It was President Chen’s seventh inspection of the Keelung River and his fifth of the flood diversion tunnel project, as his tenure nears its end.
In June 2006, the central government launched an eight-year program, with a budget of NT$116 billion (US$3.83 billion), to resolve problems of flooding in areas that were prone to such disasters, Chen Shen-hsien said.
The flood prevention project will continue and the government will build entertainment facilities along the Keelung River as flooding is no longer a problem, he said.
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