At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, the National Development Council (NDC) delivered a presentation on public infrastructure project execution for the year 2022 (effective to the end of October). Premier Su Tseng-chang said this year has seen the completion of numerous major public infrastructure projects that will benefit long-term national well-being in the areas of education, transportation, water resources, culture and public health. As of October, the execution rate for public works projects stands at nearly 70%. This represents an increase of 3.14 percentage points over the same period last year, and is the second-highest project execution rate for 15 years. The expectation is that the project execution rate will exceed 95% for three consecutive years by the end of this year.
A high execution rate for public works projects is crucial for improving the people's quality of life, spurring domestic demand and bolstering economic development, the premier said. This has been a banner year for public works, with various infrastructure projects ushering in living environments that provide greater convenience, safety, comfort and quality of life.
Next year's approved budget for public works will approach a historic high of nearly NT$600 billion (US$19.6 billion). The premier instructed the NDC and Public Construction Commission to continue supervising and assisting the execution of public construction under each ministry and agency, allocating a reasonable annual distribution of work and funding, and ensuring that assistance is promptly requested to overcome all obstacles, thereby optimizing the implementation of public works projects.