The Nantou County Government is moving ahead with plans for a cable car on Hohuanshan scheduled to be completed in 2011, in the hope of promoting the mountain areas of the county’s Jenai Township (仁愛) as a scenic destination, County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) said on Monday.
At a meeting hosted by the county government earlier in the day, the company responsible for planning the project gave a briefing on the legal, financial and environmental aspects of the project and on matters pertaining to construction techniques, marketing and implementation.
According to the plan, the mountain cable car system will be constructed at a cost of NT$2.35 billion (US$67.92 million) and will span more than 8km, with three stations along the way.
Following the briefing, Lee said Hohuanshan is the most famous spot in Taiwan for people who want to see snow.
He said he hopes that when the cable car system is completed, it will help improve transportation up and down the mountain and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Lee said the central government has approved the feasibility study for the project, which will be constructed using the Build-Operate-Transfer model.
Representatives from National Taiwan University at the briefing expressed an interest in operating the stations and helping to develop an alpine botanical garden to boost tourism in the township.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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