Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) is expected to save NT$2.5 billion (US$76 million) a year in transshipment costs after the port in Mailiao (麥寮), the site of its Sixth Naphtha Cracker, is opened to direct cross-strait shipping.
Under one of four agreements signed between the two top negotiators for Taiwan and China in Taipei on Tuesday, commercial vessels from both sides will be able to sail directly across the Taiwan Strait between 11 Taiwanese ports and 63 Chinese ports without having to make a detour through Ishigaki, Japan.
The other three agreements allow for expanded air services, postal services and improved food safety communication between the two sides.
SECOND
Figures provided by the Mailiao Industrial Harbor Administration Co showed that the port of Mailiao in Yunlin County ranked second among all Taiwanese ports, with its total freight volume surpassing 70 million tonnes last year.
Statistics show that the volume of import and export products handled at Mailiao Port during the first six months of this year reached 36.06 million tonnes, with the total volume for this year expected to surpass 78 million tonnes.
The Mailiao Port zone covers an area of 476 hectares. The industrial port, completed in 2001, has 30 docks, 20 of which were funded and built by FPG to serve its Sixth Naphtha Cracker — the driving force behind the area’s economy.
To complement the construction of the cracker and the port, the Yunlin County Government initiated a 3,154-hectare new township development plan in Mailiao in 2004, with some 2,600 hectares to be created through a land reclamation project.
NEW TOWN
Under the 25-year plan, to be carried out in five stages, the town is to be divided into light industrial, residential and commercial zones. When the development plan is completed in 2029, the new township will be able to accommodate 350,000 residents.
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