The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and the Hualien County Government yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop properties surrounding the Hualien Railway Station and Dongdameng Night Market (東大門夜市) in Hualien City.
The joint project is centered around two major development bases, a 23-hectare property surrounding the railway station and an 18-hectare property around the market, the agency said, adding that most of the properties are either owned or managed by the TRA or the county government.
The memorandum, the first with a local government on the east coast, is an important milestone in the agency’s pursuit of creating added value using its existing assets and property, TRA Director General Chang Cheng-yuan (張政源) told a news conference in Hualien City.
Photo: Wang Chin-yi, Taipei Times
The agency would work closely with the county government to assess options to develop the properties in accordance with the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例), the Railway Act (鐵路法) and the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects (促進民間參與公共建設法), he said.
The project is the largest development project in the county, and it would help turn the properties into gateways for international tourists, the TRA said.
“The Hualien Railway Station will become more than just a transportation hub. It will be a business and economic hub on the east coast and a center of people’s lives,” Chang said.
Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Cheng-wei (徐榛蔚) said the partnership would boost business activities in the county and create a new industrial chain there.
The TRA this week also began construction of a multifunctional development zone in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) in what used to be its marshalling yard, following a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday.
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