The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is closing in on a solid construction plan for its proposed rail line which would link Taipei City with Ilan County.
The ministry's Railway Engineering Bureau has contracted a private engineering consultation firm to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of building a direct line through the mountainous Beiyi area and of the development's impact on the environment, ministry officials said.
The feasibility and environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the BOT (build-operate-transfer) project in which private investors will be allowed to construct and operate the railway for a given period before handing it over to the government -- is expected to be available by the end of the year, the officials said.
Geological conditions, drilling capacity and protection of water resources are among the major points to be included in the EIA report, they said.
The Beiyi railway, which will be about 42km long, could be developed in two ways -- either from Taipei City's Nankang District to Chiaohsi township, Ilan County, or from Nankang to Chiaohsi via Toucheng, another township located nearer to the coast.
The railway would be built in 10 years with a budget of around NT$26.5 billion (US$790 million), the officials said.
The ministry began planning the project after Ilan residents appealed to the government for a direct rail line to help the county prosper, even though the highly publicized Beiyi freeway is 85 percent complete and scheduled to open by the end of 2005.
The Beiyi Freeway has been called one of the most challenging road projects in the world.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS