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When an economy is growing at 10 per cent a year or more, the infrastructure must expand, too, or become a bottleneck. The Republic of China avoided grandiose projects through the 1960s to assure more investment for the productive economy. By 1973, infrastructure was insufficient to the need. Premier Chiang Ching-kuo ordered study of plans for Ten Basic Construction Projects. The program was implemented in 1974 and is expected to cost at least US$6,500 million. There are two port and two rail projects, one airport, several power plants, an expressway and expansion of three industries: shipbuilding, petrochemicals and steel. All will be under way by 1975 and most will be completed before the close of the decade. The first section of the North-South Freeway leading west and south from Taipei is pictured above. At right is the right-of-way of the new railway to connect east, west coasts.
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From top left, clockwise: petrochemical industry, nuclear power plant, steel mill, and Kaohsiung shipyard. The developing petrochemical industry will turn products of four Chinese Petroleum Corporation naphtha crackers into the basics of synthetic textile and plastics products. Taiwan will have three nuclear power plants and eight generating units by the mid-1980s. The first power of nuclear origin is to be fed into transmission lines in 1976. Additional projects will enlarge thermal and hydroelectric generation. Steel production will begin in 1978 at an annual figure of 1.5 million metric tons. This will subsequently be raised to 6 million tons. The steel mill will be providing the plate for the new shipyard nearby. Shipbuilding capacity will be 1.5 million tons annually with another 2.5 million tons of repairs. The drydock handling vessels totaling up to a million tons will be the second largest in the world. Tankers of 450,000 tons will be built.
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Trade has been growing by 50 per cent or more annually, leading to serious congestion at the two main international ports of Keelung and Kaohsiung. Although these harbors are being continuously expanded, new ones are urgently required. Taichung Port (bottom) is to have cargo capacity of 12 million tons and will serve the west central coast. Suao (top) will handle 7 million tons and lighten the burden of Keelung in the north. Hualien, the third international port just south of Suao, also is being expanded. Former fishing harbors are being graduated to accept cargoes.