The Tainan County Government plans to upgrade a declining fishing port by expanding its yacht manufacturing capacity and creating recreational business at the location, a local official said yesterday.
Deputy director-general of the county’s Department of Urban and Rural Development, Chen Hsien-ming, said the county government hopes to attract more investment by yacht manufacturers in the county’s Chiangchun Fishing Port (將軍漁港).
There is already a 2-hectare yacht manufacturing plant in operation at the port, and the county government has allocated another 3.6 hectares of land for possible investments by other yacht making companies, Chen said.
The 100-hectare port in the county’s Chiangchun Township (將軍) was established in 2002 to accommodate more than 500 fishing vessels, but because of stiff competition from other fishing ports throughout the county, the number of fishing vessels that berth there and profits from fishing have dropped in recent years, he said.
The local government hopes that expansion of the yacht manufacturing business at the port will attract yacht lovers and allow for better utilization of the land, which in turn will help to boost the economy, he said.
Since 2006, the port has been used as a recreational fish market on holidays, but as business has been below par, the county government now has to try to increase the fishing business and attract more visitors to the port, Chen said. The expansion plan for the port also involves developing a nearby beach, he said.
The county government plans to build a resort on a 5.4 hectare tract of land near the beach and upgrade water sports facilities there to attract more tourists, Chen said, adding that the county government is still awaiting central government approval of the resort project.
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