Several multinational companies are interested in developing the area around Taiwan High Speed Rail’s (HSR) Taoyuan Station, almost a month before the Bureau of High Speed Rail is set to begin seeking developers for the area, bureau officials said yesterday.
The businesses include several well-known jewelry companies, hotels, shopping malls and amusement parks, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The bureau is scheduled to stage a presentation at the end of this month or the beginning of next month to explain the ground rules for the development of the commercial and manufacturing zone of the Taoyuan Station area before choosing a developer through public tender.
Noting that the bureau tried in vain to contract developers for the zone, along with a similar zone around Taichung Station, three years ago, the official said with confidence that the plan would succeed this time.
The officials said the area to be developed covers 22 hectares, much bigger than the three-hectare and four-hectare plots offered previously.
Furthermore, the officials said, Taiwan’s economy, which was in the grip of the global financial crisis two years ago, has turned the corner since the end of last year and could expand even more now that the country has concluded a trade pact with China.
Under the bureau’s plan, the zone in the Taoyuan Station area will be developed into an international commercial city in view of the fact that it is only a 10-minute drive from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which would make it attractive to international businesses.
The officials said the areas around the high-speed rail stations were designed to promote land development along the 345km rail route, which has made cities along its length accessible to each other within a maximum of 90 minutes.
In addition to the Taoyuan Station area, there are four other areas around Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi and Tainan stations, and authorities hope commercial and manufacturing zones will make them the centerpiece of development in their respective areas.
However, none of the commercial and manufacturing zones have yet been established, except for one at Hsinchu Station, which has been designated by the National Science Council as the location for a biotechnology park.
The areas, with advanced infrastructure — including optical fiber broadband networks and major roads linking them to nearby cities — already in place, would be ideal locations for businesses eyeing overseas markets, according to the officials.
The Taoyuan Station area will be particularly favored, given the fact that a rapid transit system connecting Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport through the station is expected to be completed by 2012.
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