The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday it was planning to establish a Harbor Affairs Bureau by 2011 to supervise the operations of all the nation’s ports.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) told a briefing at the legislature’s Transportation Committee that the ministry was also planning to enhance the competitiveness of the nation’s international seaports by turning them into commercial port corporations.
CARGO
“We will also take advantage of the opportunity brought by direct cross-strait sea transportation and enhance our ties to some of the second-tier inland river ports in China,” Yeh said. “We hope this will help increase the amount of cargo transferred via Taiwan.”
The ministry’s Aviation and Navigation Department currently supervises the operations of the nation’s international commercial seaports, including Keelung Port, Taichung Port, Kaohsiung Port and Hualien Port.
Taipei Port is managed by Keelung Harbor Bureau.
Kaohsiung Port, the nation’s largest, fell out of the top 10 global ranking in terms of container cargo handled last year.
The lackluster performance of Kaohsiung Port was the focus of the question-and-answer session at the legislative meeting yesterday, which was scheduled to review the port’s operational budget.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福) said the nation had not benefited from direct transportation services. Instead cargo delivered via Taiwan had gradually dwindled, he said.
Yeh attributed the drop in Kaohsiung’s ranking to the global economic downturn, shrinking domestic demand and relocation of the nation’s manufacturers to China.
VALUE
“The nation should focus on increasing the value of goods delivered via Taiwan, rather than just raising cargo volume,” Yeh said.
Both KMT and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers opposed the ministry’s budget plan for the next fiscal year, which seeks to transfer NT$8 billion in seaport construction funding to the treasury.
Yeh said the ministry was indeed short of funds for construction work at Kaohsiung Port, adding that the Executive Yuan may have other considerations on budget allocation.
“We will respect the committee’s decision if it insists we keep the fund,” he said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS