Properties near the Tainan high-speed rail station were highly sought-after in an auction held by the Railway Bureau, the agency said.
The bureau auctions off properties near high-speed rail stations every year.
The agency on April 8 announced that it would auction off 34 properties around the high-speed rail stations in Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Hsinchu County.
It received 77 offers, the bureau said, adding that properties near the Taichung high-speed rail station did not attract any bidders.
The bureau sold 25 of the properties, it said on Monday.
The auction has generated a NT$17.31 billion (US$556 million), which is about 13.31 percent higher than the floor prices, the bureau said, adding that this shows that land developers recognize the value of properties around high-speed rail stations.
Twelve of the properties are in Tainan — 10 in the city’s residential zone and two in the business zone.
They were sold to H&E Development Co, Farglory Group, Huayulien Development Co and Dali Construction Co.
Dali Construction secured the two properties in the business zone, with the final bids exceeding the floor prices by 47 percent, bureau data showed.
Real-estate agents have attributed the lack of bidders for properties in Taichung to their distance to the high-speed rail station and the existence of numerous factories nearby.
One of the properties has a gas station on it, they said.
Asked why the properties in Tainan were in high demand, Asset Management and Development Division Director Hsu Jung-chung (徐榮崇) said that construction of the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City began last year.
In addition, Mitsui Outlet Park near the Tainan high-speed rail station is scheduled to open in 2022, he said.
Construction of the Tainan Exhibition Center is to be completed next year, Hsu said, adding that Academia Sinica’s southern campus would also soon open in the city.
The developments might contribute to job opportunities and housing demand in the near future, which might be the reason why developers are showing an interest in properties in Tainan, he said.
In related news, the first phase of the new Taichung Railway Station’s railway overpass project is to be completed in June next year after the Taichung City Government approved the bureau’s proposed changes to the zoning plan and construction license.
The bureau proposed the changes after it inadvertently discovered an underground maintenance tunnel, which was built in 1908, at the old Taichung Railway Station while building the overpass.
The discovery would make the station the only Taiwan Railways Administration station to contain facilities from three different generations, including the new station, which was built last year, and the old station, which was built in 1918.
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