Officials said yesterday that losses caused by the 921 earthquake had risen to NT$448.8 billion (US$14.1 billion).
That figure represented a significant upward revision from an Oct. 12 assessment by Taiwan's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS,
Physical damage, including toppled buildings, bridges, roads and other relevant facilities, amounted to NT$341.2 billion, the directorate said in a statement.
In light of the losses, both physical and financial, senior economic officials are urging people to put mourning behind them and start spending to help contain further economic damage.
"While we feel for disaster victims and should refrain from wasting money, we should not be bound to suppress our consumption unnecessarily," Chiang Ping-kun (|?
"Suppressing consumption will not necessarily save resources for reconstruction after the quake, but will certainly cut demand and hurt economic recovery," he said.
"Private consumption, which has dropped by NT$26 billion after the quake, contributes as much as 62 percent to gross domestic product [GDP]," Chiang said.
"Important government activities should be held as scheduled and normal private sector consumption should stay on course," he said.
Chiang's views were echoed by Vice President Lien Chan (
Official forecasts for economic growth in 1999 were cut to 5.6 to 5.5 percent two days after the Sept. 21 quake, from 5.7 percent. Yesterday the DGBAS further slashed the figure to 5.4 percent, while the CEPD revised it down to 5.3 percent.
The CEPD had originally targeted a 6.1 percent economic growth rate for next year.
To revive the economy, Chiang also said the private sector should be encouraged to participate in the reconstruction, and steady power supplies should be ensured.
Wei Duan (-3旖?, Director-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, said yesterday physical damage, including buildings, roads and other infrastructures, was now estimated at NT$341.2 billion.
That translated into 3.7 percent of GDP, much higher than the two percent of GDP lost to Japan in the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
The 921 quake in Taiwan killed 2,474 people, injured 11,000 people, made around 310,000 people homeless and destroyed about 88,000 homes, Wei said.
In a separate assessment, the CEPD said the quake also cost NT$107.6 billion in lost revenues from the manufacturing sector.
The quake cut government revenues, including taxes and profits by state firms, by NT$40.4 billion, the council said.
The council estimated that it would need NT$77.3 billion to rebuild infrastructure, including railways, roads and dams.
The government has so far dispensed a total of NT$11.7 billion in compensation and rent subsidies for victims whose houses were destroyed and family members killed during the September quake.
However, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Chih-kang (
Taiwan's overall foreign trade for 1999 would not be seriously damaged and Taiwan is expected to end the year with an estimated trade surplus of more than US$10 billion, Wang said.
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