A third terminal is to be built at Taichung International Airport to accommodate more international travelers, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) announced yesterday, adding that an airport MRT rail line and other transportation systems would be built to facilitate access to the airport.
Chen made the announcement after inspecting the revamped domestic flight and international flight terminals at the airport yesterday morning.
“Taichung International Airport is crucial to the precision machinery industry in central Taiwan. We are investing in the future of Taiwan by investing in Taichung,” Chen said.
Photo: CNA
“Our most important goal at the moment is to fully resume flight services previously available at Taichung airport,” he added.
Chen also lauded the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s (CAA) efforts in accelerating renovations at the two terminals during the COVID-19 pandemic, overcoming challenges such as a labor shortage and sharp increases in construction costs.
“The agency managed to maintain operations at the terminals while ensuring that renovations could proceed. As the global aviation industry is recovering from disruptions caused by the pandemic, the agency has also reduced landing fees to encourage more airlines to land in Taichung,” he said.
The government remains committed to attracting 6 million international travelers to Taiwan this year and adding a third terminal to Taichung airport to accommodate more travelers, he said.
The government would further facilitate access to the airport, including an interchange connecting the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) and Highway 74 that would be launched next year and a plan to construct an airport MRT line, he said.
The number of passengers accessing Taichung airport has grown rapidly since 2010, CAA data showed.
In 2019, 2.82 million air travelers accessed the airport, which was very close to the terminals’ combined service capacity. Renovations have expanded the service capacity of the two terminals from 2.9 million to 3.69 million per year, including 1 million domestic flight passengers and 2.69 international flight passengers, the agency said.
CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that the cost of renovating the two terminals topped NT$1.085 billion (US$34.57 million), with construction scheduled to be completed next week.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the renovations have connected the domestic and international flight terminals, allowing them to operate more efficiently.
“We have resumed four international flight services following renovations at the terminals. We hope that all 14 international flight services that were available at Taichung airport before the pandemic will resume within one year,” Wang said.
The congestion at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport could be eased with some of the travelers arriving at and departing from Taichung Airport, Wang said, adding that the transportation ministry would help the Taichung City Government in planning the construction of Taichung’s airport MRT line, or Orange Line.
Flight services to Hanoi, Ho Chi-Minh City, Hong Kong and Macau have resumed in Taichung airport, the CAA said.
Charter flights to South Korea’s Busan and Jeju Island and Vietnam’s Da Nang are expected to be launched this month and next month, it added.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS