The government is to invest NT$72.7 billion (US$2.38 billion) in urban and rural infrastructure over the next two years, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
If passed, the urban and rural infrastructure plan would be the single largest item in the special budget allocated to the second phase of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) has already approved a NT$227.1 billion budget for the second phase of the program and the proposed budget is to be sent to the Legislative Yuan for review next month, they added.
The first phase of the program — which runs from September last year to December this year — received NT$107.1 billion, NT$35 billion of which was allocated to urban and rural infrastructure.
The second phase — from next year to 2020 — is to include NT$12.2 billion toward green energy infrastructure development, NT$27.8 billion for digital infrastructure, NT$59.3 billion for water infrastructure, NT$42.2 billion for railway development, NT$72.7 billion for urban and rural infrastructure and NT$12.9 billion toward childcare, food safety and human resource development, the sources said.
As part of the new plan, the government is to spend NT$3 billion each year for two years to revitalize municipal centers, the sources said.
A total of NT$10.6 billion is to be allocated next year and NT$10.4 billion in 2020 to improve road quality, reduce the need for road repairs, improve road safety and improve the overall aesthetics of thoroughfares, bringing the two-year total to NT$21 billion, they said.
The government plans to spend NT$4.1 billion per year for two years to develop locally oriented industrial parks, they said.
The government also plans to spend NT$3.5 billion next year and NT$2.9 billion in 2020 to create sports and leisure facilities, such as recreation centers, swimming pools and bicycle paths, they said.
It is to allocate NT$2.4 billion next year and NT$2.2 billion in 2020 to developing public service centers, including for long-term care, they added.
Under the plan, the government would also spend NT$5.8 billion over the next two years on seismic strengthening and reconstruction of publicly owned buildings, they said.
The government would invest NT$800 million next year and NT$4 million in 2020 to develop a Hakka Romantic Avenue along Provincial Highway No. 3 as part of its efforts to preserve and promote Hakka culture, they said.
921 EARTHQUAKE: The magnitude 7.3 quake left 2,456 people dead and 10,718 injured, while 53,661 houses were fully destroyed and 53,024 houses damaged The Central Weather Bureau yesterday received about 50,000 views on Facebook after it posted the data that it collected on Sept. 21, 1999, when the nation was devastated by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake. The data showed that the 921 Earthquake hit the nation at 1:47am, with the epicenter being 7km southwest of the bureau’s quake detection center in Nantou County’s Yuchi Township (魚池) at a depth of 8km. The quake left 2,456 people dead and 10,718 injured, while 53,661 houses were fully destroyed and 53,024 houses damaged, with the cost of the damage estimated at NT$300 billion (US$10.8 billion at the current
British newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported that Prince Charles met with Bruno Wang (汪家興), a Taiwanese fugitive who describes himself as a Chinese philanthropist and donated ￡500,000 (US$683,522) to the prince’s charity, the Prince’s Foundation. The newspaper reported that Wang is wanted in Taiwan on charges related to money laundering and being a fugitive from justice, allegations he denies, and drew comparisons between Wang and the Russian banker Dmitry Leus. Investigation and cooperation with foreign authorities have found that Bruno Wang’s father, Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), had stashed proceeds from a scandal involving the procurement of Lafayette frigates in 61 bank accounts,
AT ODDS: The KMT called on the government to seek bilateral dialogue with Beijing to resolve the issue that led to the ban on custard apple and wax apple imports Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials and lawmakers yesterday condemned China’s sudden ban on imports of custard apples and wax apples from Taiwan as “obvious political retaliation,” while the opposition called for a scientific investigation into Beijing’s claim to have found pests in imports of the fruits. China earlier yesterday announced a ban on the importation of the two fruits from today, citing repeated discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. The announcement follows a similar ban on Taiwanese pineapples imposed in February. At least Beijing gave a few days’ notice when it banned pineapple imports, an unnamed government official said yesterday. This time
BY OTHER MEANS: China could see CPTPP membership as a means of circumventing trade restrictions imposed by the US, amid an ongoing trade dispute between them The US could invoke a clause in its trade agreement with Canada and Mexico to block China’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a government official said yesterday. Under Article 32.10 of the Exceptions and General Provisions of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), if either Canada or Mexico enter a free-trade agreement with a nonmarket economy — such as China — the US could withdraw from the agreement. “If that clause applies to multilateral free-trade agreements such as the CPTPP — which Mexico and Canada are members of — that might be cause for the two
RSS