It is possible to raise NT$2 trillion (US$61.92 billion) for transportation projects, but the staggering amount could crowd out other projects, Directorate-General of Budgeting, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) said yesterday at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) asked the DGBAS whether it could source funds for a high-speed railway network linking the east and west coasts, a Hualien-Taitung expressway and an extension of National Freeway No. 6 eastward to Hualien as proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁).
Fu proposed draft special acts on the three proposed construction projects.
Photo: CNA
Major construction projects have to undergo viability and cost-effectiveness assessments before being forwarded to the National Development Council for deliberation, Chen said.
If the council approves a project that would cost a significant amount, the DGBAS would initiate talks with other government agencies to source funding, he said.
However, if the Legislative Yuan were to approve projects of the scale that have been proposed, the funding would affect many other major building projects, she said, urging the legislature to take utmost care when deliberating the issue.
The DGBAS has to balance limited funding against limitless demand from the public for building projects, protect sources of income, and keep the books balanced, he said.
Separately, Citizen of the Earth Taiwan said that the legislature should withdraw the proposed projects and the government should clarify how Hualien County should proceed with development after the April 3 earthquake.
Citizen of the Earth Taiwan deputy director Huang Ching-ting (黃靖庭) said that Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) suggestion that discussion on the draft acts be delayed until a new minister of transportation and communications has been appointed was not a straightforward decision.
The 10-year timeframe to complete the proposed construction projects is politically motivated, Huang said, adding that Hualien residents need safe public transportation that reflects their interests.
Citizen of the Earth Taiwan Hualien Taitung Office member Liang Sheng-yue (梁聖岳) said that the April 3 earthquake highlighted the difficulties of residents in eastern Taiwan.
Fu failed to prioritize post-earthquake reconstruction bills and instead introduced empty promises, Liang said.
Lai Kuan-yu (賴冠羽), a cultural creative industry incubator consultant, said that infrastructure projects in Hualien must consider the constraints of the local environment.
Hualien needs safe roads that guarantee safe travel, not projects that have not been thought through, including the potential they have to increase traffic rates and visitor numbers, Lai said.
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