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Kaohsiung hopeful Cijin development will be approved

“The NT$40 billion tourism development plan is aimed at creating a sound investment climate [for Cijin island to make it] both an energy effective and tourism-centered area.”

— Hung Shu-hui, deputy director of Kaohsiung City Government’s Urban Development Planning Bureau

The Kaohsiung City Government is seeking to transform its Cijin (旗津) island into a special tourism zone with an NT$40 billion (US$1.28 billion) development plan for a 100-hectare plot of land, a city official said yesterday.

Urban Development Planning Bureau Deputy Director Hung Shu-hui (洪曙輝) said the Sentosa-style resort plan had gotten a good response from the Tourism Bureau after it was submitted last month.

Hung said he hoped the central government would approve the project by early next year so that the city government could open bidding on it.

The Cijin tourism development plan corresponds to one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “i-Taiwan 12 infrastructure projects,” Hung said, which is to transform the city into a vibrant, diverse metropolis.

The i-Taiwan projects, one of Ma’s major economic platforms, proposes putting NT$2.65 trillion in government investment into boosting the economy over the next eight years by expanding domestic demand.

Hung dismissed rumors that the 100-hectare zone would feature casinos.

“The NT$40 billion tourism development plan is aimed at creating a sound investment climate” for Cijin island to make it “both an energy effective and tourism-centered area,” he said.

Hung said the development plan will include hotels, restaurants, beach facilities, recreational areas and historical sites.

He said the Kaohsiung City Government would also promote the solar power industry in Cijin, taking advantage of the island’s sunny weather.

In the first phase of development, the city government plans to upgrade transportation to Cijin with an electric cable car, a second underwater car tunnel and a subway link, he said.
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