The Central Taiwan Science Park administration signed a new agreement with the Changhua Irrigation Association Jan. 21 for diversion of water to the CTSP’s Erlin Township branch.
“I hope the Erlin conversion project will serve as a model for the harmonious coexistence of economic development and environmental protection,” Changhua County Magistrate Cho Po-yuan said.
The Erlin branch was originally designed as a manufacturing center for the high-energy use, high-polluting opto-electronic industry, but protests by farmers over the diversion of irrigation water brought construction to a halt. Later the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the science park expansion plan called for excessive development and revoked its Ministry of the Interior permit.
At the urging of the county government, the park was transformed into a precision machinery industry hub, resulting in an 80 percent reduction in its daily water needs from 66,500 tons to 15,000 tons.
Under the agreement, the irrigation association will begin supplying water in 2015. The county administration expects annual output value of NT$480 billion (US$16.51 billion) from the park.
Yang Wen-ke, director-general of the CTSP administration, said the diversion of irrigation water for use by the science park is a temporary measure, with water to be supplied by the public water system starting in 2020.
The Environmental Protection Administration’s Erlin task force has conditionally approved a study of differences in environmental impact following the park’s transformation, Yang said, so if the environmental impact assessment is passed soon, construction could begin in February. Four firms already approved for inclusion in the park could then step up work on their plants, he added.
Currently at least 10 major biotechnology, precision machinery and mechatronic design companies have expressed the desire to set up shop in the park, Yang noted. (THN)