The Chunghwa Post Logistics Park (郵政物流園區) would create at least 6,000 jobs when it opens in 2021, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
The postal company yesterday held a ceremony marking the beginning of the park’s construction.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦), Chunghwa Post chairman Louis Wei (魏健宏), Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and a few lawmakers representing districts in Taoyuan also attended the ceremony.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
The park would be a milestone for the postal company as it transforms from a 122-year-old establishment into a digitally operated firm, Lai said at the ceremony, adding that he hopes the park will become a global logistics technology hub.
“This is more than just a logistics park. It is to use wind and other forms of renewable energy. The buildings are to have green architecture, which would reduce power consumption by 30 percent. It is also to be a smart park, in line with the trend of the fourth industrial revolution,” Lai said. “In addition to having a smart parking lot, the park would also leverage big data analysis, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things in its operations.”
The park is near the National Taiwan Sport University Station (A7) of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System, an area with booming business activity, he said.
The output value of global cross-border e-commerce is estimated to reach US$3.4 trillion by 2020, and 48 percent of that would be in East Asia, Lai said, adding that Taiwan should use its geographical advantage as a regional hub to develop e-commerce.
“Any nation that is developing cross-border e-commerce will need ‘last-mile’ or ‘first-mile’ facilities. Chunghwa Post has been entrusted with the responsibility of being the leader in Taiwan’s development of the e-commerce and logistics industries,” Lai said. “The park is in Taoyuan’s Kueishan District (龜山), which is about 20 to 30 minutes from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or the Taipei Port. We hope that the geographical advantage would turn the facility into a successful operation.”
The park is to span 17.14 hectares and consist of five buildings: a logistics center, a northern Taiwan mail processing center, an information center, a training center and an industrial plaza, Wei said.
In addition to parcel-sorting machines, robots and automated vehicles, the park would also be equipped with the latest information and communications technology to monitor the delivery of mail and parcels, he said.
There are to be other facilities at the park, such as outlets, hotels, conference rooms and offices, he added.
The property is also to contain a 13,223m2 postal image park, which would be similar to the one in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, Wei said.
The postal image park would be near a 2 hectare flood-detention pond, Wei said, adding that the facility would create a friendly environment for employees and serve as a leisure facility for local residents.
A group of residents protested outside the ceremony against what they said was the Taoyuan City Government’s heavy-handed expropriation of private land near the MRT station for construction.
MRT A7 Station Development Project Self-Help Group leader Amber Shyu (徐玉紅) wanted to voice her frustration with the city’s handling of the expropriation, but police barred her from entering.
On Monday, National Chengchi University land economics professor Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮) also protested outside the venue, holding up a placard that likened the expropriation process to “robbery.”
Hsu yesterday on Facebook lambasted the police for arresting a protester, Huang Shih-hsiung (黃世雄), who was allegedly taking photographs outside the venue.
“When did Taiwan become a police state?” Hsu said.
Cheng conceded that the expropriation was “somewhat indelicate,” but said that it was conducted before he took office.
His administration would nonetheless endeavor to improve its land expropriation procedures in the hope of facilitating land development projects, Cheng said.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin and Cheng Shu-ting
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