Taiwan Today

The Executive Yuan approved a proposal Nov. 26 for carrying out the NT$3.995 trillion (US$123.84 billion) “i-Taiwan 12 Projects” from this year to 2016. Premier Wu Den-yih said means should be found to tie public infrastructure projects in with land development, in order to increase self-liquidation. If the private sector cannot be involved in works projects with stable income, the government should study the use of state funds to promote them. With regard to investment from the private sector, with the national treasury hard-pressed, Vice Premier Eric Li-luan Chu directed the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development to raise the level of private sector involvement to 30 percent, or NT$1.2 trillion. The CEPD said as each project and investment plan in the “i-Taiwan 12 Projects” gets underway, in the eight years of the program an average of 247,000 more jobs will be created annually, and the gross domestic product will be raised by an annual average of 2.95 percentage points. Among the “i-Taiwan 12 Projects,” a major campaign plank for President Ma Ying-jeou, the most expensive is an islandwide rapid transit network, with a budget of NT$1.215 trillion, or 30.43 percent of the total budget. Next is “Intelligent Taiwan,” a package of subprojects that includes extension of broadband Internet networks and the development of the island’s cultural and creative industries, at NT$775.2 billion, followed by the revitalization of cities and industrial parks at NT$458.1 billion. Investment from the private sector will be highest in the revitalization of cities and industrial parks at NT$337.3 billion, including 30 prioritized urban renewal projects, revitalization of export processing zones and development of high-speed rail stations. Direct private investment is centered on such projects as broadband Internet access, the digital content and design industry, mobile applications and radio-frequency identification tagging. (THN)