The Taipei City Government yesterday failed for the fourth time to attract bidders interested in starting businesses on three plots of land in Zhongzheng District (中正) previously occupied by the former Taipei City Council, with the Taipei Department of Finance blaming the result on a weak domestic economy.
Despite the city cutting royalties to be paid by the winning bidder from NT$6 billion (US$185.39 million) to NT$2.6 billion over the contract’s life, set at 50 years, it still failed to attract investors.
The contract for the development states that a developer must grant the municipal government 40 percent of superficies; 20 percent of which would be used for a museum commemorating the former city council and introducing the city’s history, and the other 20 percent to establish headquarters for non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the tourism industry from around the world.
Department Deputy Commissioner Yu Shih-ming (游適銘) said the weak economy could have discouraged potential bidders, adding that the failed bidding process could be due in part to the public’s reluctance to invest in real estate.
Department Interim Commissioner Chen Chih-ming (陳志銘) said that the department would revise the conditions for further solicitation of tenders.
Chen said that the department would assess the possibility of setting an upper limit on rent increases for city-owned land to limit the scope of rent increases.
Chen said that an increase in the latest assessed land value announced in December last year drove up the rent for the site — which is on the intersection of Zhongxiao W and Zhongshan S roads — by 41 percent, which could also have contributed to the unsuccessful bidding process.
As the museum and NGO headquarters would be in the same building erected by a developer, the department plans to better explain the rights a winning bidder would have in terms of floor management to help remove any potential doubt over the development project, he said.
Chen said that the department would also revise conditions on the percentage of floor space to be used by the city government, adding that it would consider giving a developer management rights over the NGO headquarters.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said that while many people interpreted the failed bidding process as a ramification of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) apparent animosity toward corporations, citing city probes into possible malpractice in development projects undertaken by the private sector, the municipality asking for a disproportionately large stake in floor space likely drove away potential investors and was the main reason behind the debacle.
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