The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is planning to offer a business opportunity worth an estimated NT$97.7 billion (US$3.3 billion). The agency held a trade and investment conference at the Greater Taichung Government on Sept. 2, and apart from attracting several dozen companies, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu was also there trying to persuade MOTC Minister Yeh Kuang-shih to turn Greater Taichung into a cross-strait transshipment center for handling all mail between Taiwan and China at the Port of Taichung.
Hu says that direct boats between Greater Taichung and Fujian Province’s Pingtan Island have been available for 15 months, transporting around 180,000 passengers to date, which is more than the number of people that have travelled between Fujian Province’s Xiamen and Taichung. The Pingtan route takes as little as two hours and 20 minutes, providing transport at the price of sea transport and the speed of air transport, Hu says, adding that fruit picked in Greater Taichung in the morning could be sold at Shanghai supermarkets the next morning.
Hu also says that currently all mail coming from China to Taiwan must first be transferred to Matsu to be organized before being shipped by boat to Keelung to get sorted and mailed to its intended destination in Taiwan. Hu suggests that all mail from China should be sent to Pingtan instead, and then sent to a transshipment center at the Port of Taichung because it would make for faster delivery and be beneficial to the development of the Taichung harbor area.
Photo: Tseng Hung-ju, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者曾鴻儒
Yeh says that in August last year when he took the express ferry from Taichung Port to Pingtan, he realized that Taichung Port could become an important base for commercial product exports to China. A transshipment station in Pingtan could be set up for products from Taiwan, but verifying that the products are from Taiwan and ensuring the quality of the products is a must, he says, adding that the ministry will be actively communicating with customs officials to work on relaxing restrictions. Chunghwa Post and HSC Hai Xia Hao are also vying for rights to operate the cross-strait mail center because the necessary technology would not be an issue for them.
Ten agencies, including the Bureau of High Speed Rail, Taiwan International Ports Co and Chunghwa Post, made 41 investment proposals at the conference, which included proposals to develop a commercial zone around the Greater Taichung high speed railway station, construction on No. 4 National Highway between the city’s Fengyuan and Tanzi districts and setting up investments to develop an area specifically for professional industries around Taichung Port.
The trade and investment conference held on Sept. 2 also attracted several companies from central Taiwan, including construction companies such as the Shining Group, Sweeten Construction Co, Zongtai Development and Construction Co and Pao Huei Construction Co, as well as Janfusun Fancyworld and the Vedan Enterprise Corp.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
交通部預計將釋出九百七十七億元商機，二日至台中市舉辦招商大會，除了吸引數十家業者參與外，台中市長胡志強也當面向交通部長葉匡時爭取打造台中港兩岸郵件的分裝轉運中心。
胡志強表示，福建省平潭縣與台中港開放直航迄今十五個月，載客量達十八萬人次，超越福建省廈門到台中港航線，且最快僅需時二小時廿分鐘，可說是「空運速度，海運價錢」；透過此航路，早上在台中採收的水果隔日清晨就能在上海超市買到。
胡志強也說，現在中國到台灣的郵件，必須在馬祖彙整後船運到基隆，再從基隆分運到全國各地，他建議改為在平潭匯整後運至台中港，由台中港做為分裝轉運站，郵件遞送不僅更快，也有助於提升台中港的發展。
葉匡時表示，他去年八月從台中港搭乘快輪到平潭，深深體會台中港可以成為台灣商品銷售到中國的重要基地，台灣商品也能在平潭建立前進基地，但必須確保是台灣的品牌與商品品質，交通部會積極與海關溝通，全力鬆綁行政措施；另外，中華郵政、平潭海峽號也在爭取兩岸郵件中心的業務，這方面技術不是太大問題。
這場招商大會由高鐵局、台灣港務公司、中華郵政等十個單位，提出四十一項招商計畫，包括高鐵台中車站地區商業區開發經營案、國道四號台中線豐原至潭子段工程、台中港港埠產業發展專業區興建營運投資案等。
九月二日的招商大會也吸引中部業者出席，包括鄉林、順天、總太、寶輝等建設公司及劍湖山、味丹等企業。
（自由時報記者張菁雅）
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