A foreign consortium led by a Hong Kong media tycoon won the “Taipei Twin Towers” development project, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems announced yesterday after five unsuccessful attempts to find a developer.
The consortium of Hong Kong-based Nan Hai Development Ltd (南海發展) and Malaysian property developer Malton Berhad was the most favored applicant for the project next to Taipei Railway Station, the department said, adding that the two sides are to ink a contract in March.
The team offered more generous terms that would allow landlords to keep more floor space and charge higher rents when construction of the mixed-use complex is completed in 2025, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems
It is the sixth auction attempt for the project, which has been embroiled in bribery scandals for the past 20 years.
The consortium is competing against a local group comprised of computer maker Clevo Co (藍天電腦) and affiliate property developer Hongwell Group (宏匯集團).
The local team could take over if Nan Hai pulls out, the department said.
Nan Hai is to spend NT$60 billion (US$1.95 billion) on the project that would “wow” the region after its completion, chairman Yu Pun-hoi (于品海) told a news conference in Taipei earlier this month.
The team aims to develop two towers — one 65 stories tall and the other 53 stories tall — that would house retail stores on the lower floors, offices on the middle floors and hotel rooms on the upper floors, said Yu, who also chairs Nan Hai Corp (南海控股).
Nan Hai Holding Co (南海金控) is a listed firm in Hong Kong primarily engaged with businesses in China, Hong Kong, North America, Europe and Australia in the culture and media sectors, property development and IT application services.
“Taipei has not seen any eye-catching buildings for a while — not since the construction of Taipei 101 — and we aim to rescue the city from the architectural doldrums with the Taipei City One project,” Yu said.
The project is a real-estate development opportunity and a venue for launching an “online-offline merger” business model in Taiwan — persuading consumers within a physical business to make digital engagement purchases, Yu said.
The complex would add more than 60,000 ping (198,347m2) of commercial space to the area, Yu said, adding that he is not worried about a supply glut, because there are no competitors of a similar scale in the vicinity.
Real-estate prices in Taipei are relatively affordable, compared with that in other international Asian cities, suggesting ample room to improve on the team’s investment, he said.
The Clevo-Hongwell team told local media it would continue to invest in Taiwan, despite losing the contract.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS