The Executive Yuan today held a meeting to discuss progress on the Taoyuan Aerotropolis development project, which has entered the zone expropriation stage after receiving the green light from the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) urban planning committee.
Vice Premier Chang San-cheng, who hosted the meeting, gave instructions that the central and local governments should cooperate closely to ensure that the project proceeds as scheduled.
The entire project will cover an area of 4,687 hectares, of which around 3,155 hectares will come from land expropriation. To expedite the process, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and the Taoyouan City Government will apply for approval from the MOI's land expropriation screening committee concerning the scope of land to be expropriated and the proportion of land to be given original owners in lieu of compensation.
As for follow-up issues regarding public opinion, building demolition, resident relocation, irrigation pond utilization, a river area and a religious activities area, Chang requested relevant ministries and the Taoyuan City Government to fully communicate with the public and provide timely updates.
In terms of infrastructure, the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA) in 2014 served over 35 million passengers, exceeding the 32 million capacity designed for its two terminals combined. To improve service quality, the MOTC will speed up construction of a third terminal, the plans for which were approved by the Executive Yuan on March 6.
With the design tender process slated to kick off by the end of May, the new terminal is expected to be completed by the end of 2020 and boost the TTIA's passenger capacity to 57 million persons per year.
In addition, renovations on the TTIA's three-decade-old runways started in 2013. The southern runway was reopened on January 8 this year, while the northern runway, which saw refurbishments start March 6, is expected to be back in action by the next Lunar New Year.
Boasting its advantageous location as a sea port, airport and free trade port, the Taoyuan Aerotropolis will align its industry development and business recruitment plans with the free economic pilot zone program.
Smart living technologies will also be used to make the Taoyuan Aerotropolis a smart green city. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Taoyuan County are developing fourth-generation (4G) smart broadband applications to improve urban management and boost local economic growth. Vice Premier Chang encouraged Taoyuan County to contribute its own ideas on accentuating smart features in the aerotropolis.
Since 2014, the MOEA and Taoyuan City have organized several business recruitment fairs at home and abroad. Numerous letters of intent have been inked in a wide variety of industries, including infrastructure, construction, smart optoelectronics, 4G smart broadband, precision engineering, sports and leisure, international medical service, and logistics and shipping.