The construction of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s third terminal would cost more than NT$100 billion (US$3.1 billion) by the time it is completed in 2026, up from the NT$95.6 billion the government projected in May 2020, due to increases in building material costs and labor charges, the National Development Council said on Monday.
The council released the information after hearing a report from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications on the project’s progress.
The project is 52.65 percent complete and the terminal is expected to start operations in 2026, enabling the airport to serve 82 million passengers a year to help build Taiwan into an East Asian transportation hub, council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
The added cost has a lot to do with building material and labor shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic and contractors’ increased fees, the council said.
The terminal is to have a total floor space of 580,000m2 with four floors above ground and three basement floors, making it the nation’s largest public construction project in decades, the council said, adding that its roof is three times the size of the Taipei Dome.
Kung said he has asked the transportation ministry to help airport authorities with customs clearances, as well as passport, quarantine and security inspection procedures.
The ministry should also lend support to the development of neighboring areas, he said.
As of the end of last month, the nation had spent NT$370 billion on public works since the beginning of the year, the highest figure for the period over the past 16 years, the council said.
The government has budgeted NT$588.6 billion for public works next year, an increase of 0.3 percent from this year, as it aims to boost the economy, it said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half