The Kinmen Bridge is scheduled to be opened by the middle of 2021, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Saturday, adding that it would be the pride of Taiwanese and residents of the outlying county.
Lin made the statement after watching Freeway Bureau personnel finish installing the last pile for the bridge, which connects the main Kinmen island and Leiyu Township (烈嶼, on Lesser Kinmen).
He is glad that close to 50 percent of the construction has been completed, he said, adding that he had said in May that he would revisit Kinmen when that mark was reached.
Photo courtesy of the Kinmen County government
Little did he know that a lot has been accomplished in the past three months, particularly construction in the deep-water zone, Lin said.
Kinmen County Commissioner Yang Cheng-wu (楊鎮浯) of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said that construction experts from Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong have worked on the bridge.
The county would have a completed transport system once it is opened, Yang said.
Taiwan is also building Tamkang Bridge in New Taipei City, a bridge connecting two major islands in Lienchiang County (Matsu) and reconstructing the Penghu Trans-Oceanic Bridge, Lin said.
These projects could use the technology applied in the construction of the Kinmen Bridge, Lin said, adding that the technology could be exported for construction projects in Southeast and South Asian nations.
The Kinmen Bridge would help connect the two islands in every way, he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by