Two container terminals at the Port of Taipei were officially opened yesterday as part of the government’s plan to turn Taiwan into a regional hub.
Construction of the port’s container terminals was outsourced to three freight carriers — Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Wan Hai Lines (萬海航運) and Yangming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) — following the build-operate-transfer model.
They have jointly invested approximately NT$20.3 billion (US$583 million) in the project.
The three carriers also formed the Taipei Port Container Terminal Corp (TPCT, 台北港貨櫃碼頭公司) to manage operations of the terminal, with Evergreen holding 50 percent of the company’s shares, Wan Hai 40 percent and Yangming 10 percent.
Yesterday’s inauguration ceremony to celebrate the completion of the two terminals was attended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), the presidents of the three carriers and local dignitaries.
An expressway connecting the Port of Taipei to Freeway No. 1 and the Greater Taipei area was opened to the public yesterday.
Construction costs for the expressway topped NT$26.6 billion.
Ma said that the transportation issues must be addressed before Taiwan can become an operational base for Taiwan’s businessmen, a financial hub in the Asia-Pacific region and a global research and development center.
Cross-strait transportation services were launched with a view to exploiting Taiwan’s geographical advantage, which has been constrained in the past for political and military reasons, he said.
“I hope we can be released from those bonds and become a springboard to the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
Aside from the two terminals, Ma said that the Port of Taipei still has plenty of room for more land reclamation projects, which should help create an area of 70 million cubic meters for logistics services.
Liu said the government started planning for the development of the Port of Taipei, formerly known as Tamsui Port (淡水港), when he was minister of transportation and communications in 1993.
Liu said that the port was previously positioned as a domestic seaport and was mainly used to help transport sand to the East Coast, but it soon became an international seaport to facilitate the transportation of goods from overseas.
“The container terminal will allow the Port of Taipei to handle long-distance voyages,” he said.
Mao, on the other hand, said that the project set a perfect example of how a BOT model would work.
“The Port of Taipei’s equipment is all automatic,” Mao said. “Since it is 24km from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, a close-knit network could be formed between the port and the Taoyuan Airport Zone.”
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