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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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