The government, which faces financial difficulties, might take advantage of the brains and bankrolls of Taiwanese society to increase the number of sewer systems in the near future, Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) said yesterday.
"Adopting the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model to encourage the private sector to build sewer systems could be a way out," Yeh, also executive-general of the Cabinet's National Council for Sustainable Development, said.
Yesterday, the council and the China Times Cultural and Educational Foundation held a panel discussion in which experts from diverse fields, ranging from finance to engineering, contributed feasible strategies for the Cabinet to promote BOT projects.
For decades, insufficient sewer systems in Taiwan had increased challenges to treat river pollution and burdened ecological systems with untreated waste water.
According to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), about 25 percent of the total length of rivers in the country is listed as either heavily or moderatly polluted due to their absorption of untreated waste water from homes, factories and farms.
Yeh attributed the scenario to Taiwanese political figures' long-term reluctance to build construction which is not easily seen by the public.
"The low ratio of families served by sewers, about 10 percent, is even lower than many other Asian countries, such as the Philippines," he said.
According to the Construction and Planning Administration (CPA), 590,000 families island-wide so far have been connected to sewer systems, bringing the average ratio to 10.5 percent.
Early last year, Premier Yu Shyi-kun proposed a plan dubbed "Challenge 2008," aimed at increasing the sewer-served ratio of families to 20.3 percent in 2007.
CAP administrator Ko Hsiang-Tang (
So far, Ko said, the government had only invested NT$110.3 billion in total since the late 1950s in building sewer systems. Last year and this year, Ko said, the Cabinet allocated about NT$11.3 billion in total for the CPA to pursue the goal.
"We can't make it because each year we need at least NT$10 billion to build and improve sewer systems," Ko said.
Meanwhile, in order to fulfill the Cabinet's goal, local governments have to allocate NT$65.5 billion in total by 2007. Existing financial burdens, however, make it impossible for local authorities to raise the funds needed.
Wu Rong-yi (吳榮義), president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said that the Cabinet's idea of adopting the BOT way to raise funds was practical. Still, Wu said many difficulties, including land requisition, local opposition and fees collection, should be dealt with wisely beforehand.
"For example, the Cabinet should have a special fund reserved for adjusting the rate to be charged for sewer treatment," Wu said.
Wu suggested that the Cabinet pick some counties, where the obstacles facing BOT projects are manageable, to promote a concept of "polluters should pay."
For the EPA, the goal of the sewer-served ratio of families, 20.3 percent, remains too low.
"The experience of the rest of the world tells us that rivers can't be treated successfully if the sewer-served ratio of families does not exceed 70 percent," EPA deputy administrator Chang Chu-en (張祖恩) said.
According the CPA, in 1998 the ratio in the UK was 88 percent, while in the US it was 71 percent. Meanwhile, in Asia, Malaysia's 74.2 percent exceeds Korea's 52.6 percent and Japan's 55 percent.
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