Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) on Wednesday said that the Cabinet would set up a support fund package of NT$3 billion (US$93.8 million) to cover portions of the expenditure for the new Keelung MRT project, thereby easing the financial burden on the Keelung City Government, as the project is expected to start construction at the end of this year.
The Keelung MRT Construction and Operation Fund would be established to reduce the financial burden of the city government, which would need to pay NT$1.7 billion through the expected nine years of construction, Cheng said.
When the Cabinet finalized the project in February last year, the estimated total expenditure was NT$42.5 billion, with the Keelung City Government’s share at NT$1.77 billion.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
However, the official estimate has risen to NT$69.7 billion due to higher construction material costs, a shortage of labor, higher wages, the effects of a global economic downturn and an adjusted calculation for the appropriation of private land.
The Keelung City Government’s increased financial commitment had angered Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), who had refused to cover the higher costs.
In response to Cheng’s announcement, Hsieh on Wednesday said: “I can happily accept this new proposed funding package ... as we are impressed by the goodwill shown by the Cabinet.”
Cheng said the Cabinet had assessed real estate and commercial developments associated with the Keelung MRT project would bring in more than NT$4 billion of revenue, including a new “Industrial Town for Sci-Tech Research and Development” in Keelung’s Wudu District (五堵).
This revenue would be incorporated into the Keelung MRT Construction and Operation Fund which the Cabinet would help the city government set up.
The MRT line’s route through Keelung had also been adjusted to cut costs, Cheng added.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Pin-yu (賴品妤) said about half of the Keelung MRT route would serve urban areas in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止), so she requested that construction begin as soon as possible.
Independent Keelung City Councilor Wang Hsing-tzu (王醒之) said that financial issues resulting from the project also include the cost of operating the line, which Cheng did not mention.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS