A resort planned near Taitung County’s Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣) on Wednesday failed an environmental assessment for the second time, dealing another blow to the project, which has been languishing in review for 16 years.
Reviewers deliberated for 15 minutes before rejecting the application to allow construction of the project, which has been dubbed the “most troubled zombie tourism investment in history.”
The projected Dulan Bay Golden Sea Resort, which would include a 500-room hotel complex on an 11.3-hectare plot, was initially granted environmental approval in 2000.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
However, as construction did not begin within three years, the developers were legally required to submit another assessment report analyzing environmental changes.
Residents and environmental advocates protested the project, saying that it would damage an archeological site and coral reefs, and that it would encroach on Amis lands without the developer having properly communicated with the communities.
The site is near Beinan Township’s (卑南) Fushan (富山), where ancient pottery remains have been discovered.
In the intervening years, the project proposal underwent eight committee meetings and two assessments before the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) returned the case to the Tourism Bureau in 2018.
The bureau in 2020 submitted the case again, but the same objections remained, leading to Wednesday’s rejection, which came after the developer failed to present a report.
The developer said it would respect the committee’s decision, and consider the possibility of downsizing the project and preserving the archeological site.
Although it did not send a representative to the meeting, the bureau submitted a letter saying that the market has changed significantly since the project was first approved more than 20 years ago and the original financing plan no longer applies.
The developer said it on Jan. 25 received a letter saying that it had one year to submit a revised business plan.
Without asking further questions, the reviewers unanimously voted to reject the plan.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan deputy executive director Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳) said that the project exposes loopholes in Taiwan’s environmental review mechanism.
Even though the project had been rejected, the case was resubmitted, wasting resources and causing years of torment for the developer and residents, Tsai said.
The EPA should settle old cases and ask the bureau to complete its promised assessments of east coast projects to avoid the situation from happening again, he added.
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