The Central Taiwan Science Park Administration yesterday said it has gained approval to develop land in Taichung’s Houli District (后里), after 12 years of dealing with environmental disputes, which would ease a scarcity of land nationwide.
The park administration made the remarks after the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday endorsed a second-phase environmental impact assessment, four years after it settled legal disputes with environmental activists and local residents.
The approval paves the way for the science park to build a manufacturing site for more optoelectronics, precision machinery, biotechnology and “green” energy companies, it said, adding that AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation’s second-biggest LCD panel maker, would be one of the earliest manufacturers to make Houli its new home.
There is also a chance that Apple Inc’s camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) might build a new production line there.
“We are approaching Largan to lease land in Houli,” Central Taiwan Science Park Director-General Chen Ming-huang (陳銘煌) said in a telephone interview. “It would be an optimal location for Largan to expand its capacity as it is only about 30 minutes from the firm’s headquarters.”
“As there is a scarcity of land nationwide, new applicants have been waiting in line for a long time to move in and to build new fabs in this area,” Chen said.
Topkey Corp (拓凱), which produces composite carbon fiber and resin, plans to invest NT$1.8 billion (US$60.22 million) on building production lines in Houli, Chen said, adding that camera lens maker Newmax Technology Co (新鉅科) also plans to invest about NT$2 billion there.
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