The Taipei International Flora Expo will begin a 20-day trial operation in October, and invite about 500,000 residents and volunteers to visit the 14 exhibition sites to test traffic and help ensure smooth operations when the exhibition formally opens on Nov. 6.
Following the example of the World Expo in Shanghai, the trial run, which will be held from Oct. 9 to Oct. 28, will be conducted in several stages to incrementally test the capacity of different exhibition sites and traffic.
Ting Hsi-yung (丁錫鏞), director of the expo’s organizing committee, said the test would involve four phases, with the number of visitors allowed in the exhibition sites starting from 5,000 and increasing to 70,000.
A total of 62 participating cities from 33 countries will complete preparations by then and take part in the trial operations, he said.
To thank the residents of Zhongshan (中山) and Datong (大同) districts who may be affected by the expo, the city government will give them priority in visiting the expo during the test runs.
The major exhibition sites — Yuanshan Park, Xinsheng Park and Dajia Riverside Park — are located in the two districts.
Expo volunteers, minority groups, borough chiefs and schools will also be on the invitation list.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said traffic was a major concern during the expo, but the test runs should help the city government ensure smooth traffic when the expo starts.
“We will make adjustments to correct the flaws found during the trial run. Hopefully, we will be able to present a perfect expo when it formally opens,” he said.
In response to allegations that the city government will launch the MRT Lujhou Line ahead of schedule because of the expo, Hau said the city would not allow the line to start operating until safety inspections are completed.
The line will be launched according to schedule, which is early next year, Hau said.
The expo will be held from Nov. 6 to April 26 at 14 sites around Taipei. The city government estimates that the event will attract about 8 million visitors.
With a total investment of NT$3.529 billion, the expo is expected to create a minimum economic return of NT$11.7 billion (US$360 million) — roughly one-and-a-half to three times the amount invested based on statistics of previous events held worldwide, the city said.
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