Following the recent termination of an agreement with a Taipei company to build a high-speed rail line to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, Taipei county officials yesterday expressed support for an 11-stop route that was previously mapped out by the now defunct provincial government.
Pundits say that the plan is strikingly similar to the one formulated by the plan proposed by Evertransit International Co (
"The original route [proposed by Evertransit] will help boost land development and local economies," Hsinchuang City Mayor Huang Lin Ling-ling (
PFP Legislator Lee Hung-chun (
"Only after the MRT system is operational can the local property market recover," Lee told the hearing.
After the project's second contractor, BES Engineering Corp (
The first plan proposes turning an existing 19.2km rail line between Linkou and Taoyuan City into an MRT system by 2006 at a cost of NT$17.3 billion.
Another proposes adding a 16km extension to the north-south high-speed rail system from Chingpu station to the airport at a cost of NT$30 billion by June 2008.
The third proposed 35km route, apparently favored by local government officials, cuts through several townships in Taipei County and is expected to cost NT$70 billion. It would take until 2010 to complete the construction work.
This proposal would have 11 stations in towns including Hsinchuang, Taishan, Wuku and Linkou.
Presenting a government progress report on the matter, Oliver Yu (游芳來), vice minister of transportation and communications, said that the ministry's Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail (高鐵局) is working on a feasibility report, which is slated to be completed by the end of the year.
He added that once the government finalizes the route, a new international build-operate-transfer (BOT) bid would be opened to invite private contractors.
"This time, the government will allocate a budget to help the project's contractor acquire land for the railway," Yu said.
Chang Chao-neng (
With the government assistance, Chang said that contractors will be able to focus on the railway's construction.
He also said that bidding for the BOT project will be open to all interested local and foreign contractors, including Evertransit and BES.
With the project now dead in the water for almost six years, Law Wing-kwong (羅永光), a professor of civil engineering from National Taiwan University, yesterday urged the government to carefully look into the project's economic and financial feasibility before making a final decision.
In response Yu vowed that the line would be completed even if the government had to take over.
"The government is determined to help with the project's completion," Yu said.
"The government will take over the project itself if no private investors express interest."
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