Premier Lai Ching-te on Thursday said that the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program and the green energy industry are both important policy objectives of President Tsai Ing-wen, and the Executive Yuan must work hard on implementation to produce tangible results that make a difference in people's lives.
The premier's remarks came following a presentation by the National Development Council (NDC) on the progress of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program focuses on building major infrastructure that will be critical to the nation's future development, emphasized Premier Lai. In order to fully realize the program's benefits and make effective and efficient use of precious resources, the allocation of the second-stage special budget should be reviewed on a rolling basis. The premier instructed the ministries and agencies involved to closely monitor related planning and implementation. Should a project fail to yield clear benefits and results, then agencies in charge must move quickly to consider cancellation. If additional implementation planning is required, then it should be carried out within the scope of the Special Act for Forward-looking Infrastructure.
The NDC indicated that the Legislative Yuan passed a first-stage special budget of NT$107 billion (US$3.58 billion) to cover work from September 2017 to December of this year, of which NT$13.2 billion (US$440 million) had been spent by the end of the first quarter of 2018. Among many important accomplishments, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) approved 247 projects in the area of urban-rural development, including a plan to revitalize municipal centers by improving the livability of mid-sized and rural towns and creating distinctive environments reflecting the special character of each locale. The MOI also cooperated with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to promote a program focused on enhancing road quality, with 769 approved projects to greatly improve roadways and surrounding environments throughout Taiwan.