Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) “Love Ferris Wheel” project lacks substance and needs to be improved if it is to obtain land use rights in the Port of Kaohsiung, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday.
Asked about Han saying on Friday that he would seek to negotiate with the central government over land needed for the project, Su said that the central government encourages local government heads to focus on their jobs and would assist them to realize their ideas or proposals, but they must be practical, fulfill certain conditions and conform to the law.
Han on Friday held an investors’ briefing on the project, which also includes the establishment of a commercial district.
Photo: CNA
Despite saying in his Kaohsiung mayoral campaign that the Love Ferris Wheel would be built by the Love River (愛河), three of the four sites proposed by the Kaohsiung City Government were close to piers in the port, which is overseen by the central government.
So far, the project remains a slogan that Han chanted on the campaign trail and substantial information is lacking, Su said.
He called on Han to submit a more concrete plan to the Cabinet for review, adding that the central government would handle his proposals fairly from the perspective of pushing forward Kaohsiung development.
Asked if the central government would grant the municipal government land use rights in the port, Su said that major projects are being carried out there.
Every inch of port land is extremely valuable, including the plots Han proposed using, which are neither vacant nor uncharted territory, the premier said.
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