The Executive Yuan is to build a NT$12.8 billion (US$447.52 million) national-level children’s recreational facility in New Taipei City to foster interest in science and technology, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday.
Su made the remarks in a speech after inspecting the site for the planned facility with New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ahead of Children’s Day on Sunday next week.
The National Children’s Future Plaza project is to be built on a 3.3-hectare plot of land worth NT$30 billion in Banciao District (板橋), Su said.
Photo: CNA
The project, which would be fully funded by the government, came about after a series of talks between himself and Hou, who as mayors of the special municipality had both thought of using the land for children, he said.
The plaza would emphasize science, technology and cultural education through play, he said.
It has the potential to become a landmark and an international tourism destination, as domestic and international visitors would use the adjacent Taiwan High-Speed Rail and Taoyuan Airport MRT, he said.
Hong Shih-fang (洪世芳), who heads the Ministry of Culture’s Cultural Resources Department, said that the plaza would have cultural activities, digital art and technology exhibitions, and a children’s theater.
The planners would study the Boston Children’s Museum, the Kids Plaza Osaka in Japan and the Digital Art Museum in Berlin as models for the plaza, Hong said.
Over the past two decades, the city has tried and failed to develop the land due to local opposition to build-operate-transfer schemes that relied heavily on private-sector contractors, he said.
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