Government officials, lawmakers and industry representatives yesterday attended a plaque unveiling ceremony at the Nantze Export Processing Zone (楠梓加工出口區) in Kaohsiung to rename the zone as a technology industrial park.
Officials from the export processing zones in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Pingtung County videoconferenced as they renamed the zones as technology industrial parks, marking the end of export processing zones in Taiwan after 55 years.
The renaming complies with last year’s amendment to the Statute for the Establishment and Administration of Export Processing Zones (加工出口區設置管理條例), the Export Processing Zone Administration (EPZA) said in a statement posted on the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Web site.
Photo: Ge Yu-hao, Taipei Times
The ministry, since launching the zones in 1966, has established 10 zones over 530.3 hectares in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Pingtung County.
The zones that were renamed technology industrial parks are to target smart manufacturing, equipment upgrades and advanced material research, with the aim of developing into important high-end manufacturing centers in Taiwan, the administration said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) praised the role that export processing zones played in launching the nation’s economic development.
“The renaming is not to deny what these export processing zones have accomplished in the past, but to affirm the success that they have helped to achieve in transforming the nation’s technology industry over the past 55 years,” Su said.
There are more technology companies than traditional manufacturers at the new industrial parks — tech firms account for 60 percent, while just the tech firms at the Nantze park represent 80 percent of that total, EPZA Director-General Yang Po-keng (楊伯耕) said.
The industrial parks in Taichung host mainly optical, electronics, flat-panel display, software and digital content companies; the industrial parks in Kaohsiung host mainly semiconductor, optoelectronics, logistics, software and digital content companies; and the industrial parks in Pingtung County host mainly water treatment companies and electric motor manufacturers.
Investment in zones last year increased 435 percent year-on-year to NT$46.2 billion (US$1.62 billion), EPZA data showed.
This shows that development in the zones has focused on technology, Yang said.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) agreed with Yang’s assessment, saying that the export processing zones reported steady growth in sales, investment and trade last year, despite the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that the zones have turned into high-end manufacturing bases, with NT$300 billion in annual production and more than 10,000 job opportunities.
The EPZA said that it is aiming for a 5 percent increase in production this year at each of the new technology industrial parks, and seeking NT$100 million from the central government for expansion and development.
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