The New Taipei City (新北市) Government yesterday pledged to continue its plans to construct a Minsheng-Xizhi line of the Taipei mass rapid transit (MRT) system despite the plan being rejected by the central government.
The city government said it would provide further evidence of the plan’s viability.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications rejected the project on Feb. 16, saying the city government had failed to provide estimates of the external benefits of the MRT line, such as urban renewal, land development and increased revenue.
The city government will re-examine the project and try to raise its self-liquidating ratio by 2 to 3 percentage points from about 30 percent to meet the ministry’s requirements, acting commissioner of the city’s Transportation Bureau Simon Chao (趙紹廉) said.
“We will never give up on the Minsheng-Xizhi Line,” he said, adding that the project is a crucial part of New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) political platform.
It would be the first line to be built under the newly sworn-in Chu and is expected to begin at Dadaocheng Station beneath Minsheng West Road in Taipei City and extend beneath the Keelung River to Neihu District.
The total length of the line will be 17.52km, with 15 stations and one depot, to be built at a cost of NT$42.2 billion (US$1.44 billion).
During his mayoral election campaign last year, Chu proposed extending the MRT system by creating 10 new lines, including three circular routes.
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