Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Yin Chen-pong (尹承蓬) said yesterday the agency was planning to spend NT$60 billion (US$1.9 billion) building the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s third terminal, which is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
Yin said the construction of the terminal was proposed as the nation gears up to become one of the important aviation hubs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Saying that several organizations have estimated that the region would see growth in flight passengers in the near future, Yin cited the UN’s World Tourism Organization as an example, which said it estimated last year that the number of outbound passengers in China and Southeast Asia would increase by an average of 5 percent to 9 percent over the next 20 years.
Boeing Co has also forecast that passenger flight services in Asia would account for 41 percent of the global market by 2028, up from 32 percent last year, he said.
Boeing said last year that the passenger flight market in China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region would grow by an average of 5.4 percent per year in the next two decades, which was higher than the global average of 5.2 percent, Yin said.
The CAA also estimated that flight passengers at Taoyuan International Airport would increase from approximately 21.6 million to 45 million by 2020 and could rise to 58 million by 2030.
“When we estimated the growth of flight passengers, we did not just take into account the increase of the cross-strait flight passengers,” he said. “We have considered the opportunities that could be brought by the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement [ECFA].”
According to the CAA’s preliminary plan, the nation will spend about NT$60 billion constructing the key infrastructure, including the third terminal, boarding areas, airport ramps and a people mover system.
The construction is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
Among the CAA’s plans are a satellite concourse that would allow passengers to complete their check-in before arriving at the terminal, which would cost additional NT$20 billion, it said. Another NT$7 billion will be invested in building auxiliary facilities, such as the ground transportation center, it added.
The Taoyuan Airport Co, which is scheduled to be established next month, will carry out the construction project, Yin said, adding that the government funding would account for only 20 percent of the total construction costs.
The Executive Yuan is now reviewing the master plan for the new terminal, he said, adding that the plan also must be reviewed again by the Council for Economic Planning and Development before the guidelines for execution could be drafted.
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