The yacht terminal in Keelung’s Badouzih (八斗子) Fishing Port is scheduled to be outsourced under an operate-transfer (OT) financing model to a private contractor by the end of this year, according to the Fisheries Agency.
The contract involves a development area of approximately 9.2 hectares, including 2.5 hectares of land and 6.7 hectares of water. Investors are required to have capital of at least NT$10 million (US$333,100).
Qualified bidders for the contract should have backgrounds in yacht production, maritime transport, tourism industries or services tailored to the needs of yacht owners.
The agency said the contract would follow the OT model, in which the contractor is given the concession to operate the business on the facilities built by the government and to transfer the facilities back to the government once the concession is over.
The contractor who secures the development project will have the exclusive right to run the terminal for three years, the agency said, adding that the contract to operate the terminal can be renewed for three more years if the company generates good performance.
The agency estimated the contractor could potentially generate a revenue of at least NT$20 million.
The agency held a session on Thursday last week to explain to the public about the business potential of the yacht terminal.
It drew 16 interested companies, including hotel operators and investors of yacht terminals in other countries.
Fisheries Agency Director-General James Sha (沙志一) said the terminal has a capacity for 74 yachts. Currently, about 60 are berthed there.
“We think that it will help stimulate the economy of both the fishing village and Keelung,” Sha said.
The agency said the terminal is the only one in the nation that can offer users a fresh water supply as well as electricity power service of 220V to 400V.
Aside from Badouzih, the agency also plans to outsource the operations of the yacht terminals at Wushih (烏石) Fishing Port in Yilan County and Anping (安平) Fishing Port in Greater Tainan by the end of next year under the build-operate-transfer model.
The investment in these three terminals could potentially top NT$4 billion. Statistics from the agency showed that about 1.19 million passengers boarded tourism-related fishing boats last year, including approximately 400,000 on whale-watching boats, 590,000 on fishing charter boats and about 200,000 on lagoon tour boats. The annual output of the service could reach NT$1.9 billion.
The largest fishing port in northern Taiwan, Badouzih has gained a reputation as a holiday seafood market. In 2009, the agency started turning part of the port into a pier for leisure boats.
The yacht terminal has been in operation since 2012, with the berth utilization rate reaching 80 percent. It has drawn several superyachts weighing 1,600 tonnes or more.
The agency decided to outsource the terminal to a private contractor to further expand its operation and facilitate the development of yacht-related industries around the port.
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