Released on 7/15/2013 at 14:48:21

(Published by Yonghua Municipal Administration Center) Written by Jin-Yan Song / Department of Information and International Relations

The project of transforming Anping Port into a free trade zone will accelerate local prosperity. Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) plans to develop the northern shore of Anping Port into a tourism and recreation area and the southern shore into a free trade zone. On July 15, TIPC gave a briefing on the project schedule, and the city government officials and representatives expressed their endorsement on the implementation of the plan. TIPC stressed that the goals are to obtain approval of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and to turn the harbor into one of the Free Economic Demonstration Zones by the end of July. Mayor Ching-Te Lai immediately instructed the city government officials to offer their full support and construct a platform to cooperate with TIPC in accelerating the administrative procedures. TIPC has also called for international consultancy companies online for the future development of the northern shore into a tourism and recreation area. This project will be planned together with the Asia's New Bay Area Project, which centers on the Port of Kaohsiung, to help recover the socioeconomic status of the former three major port cities: Tainan, Lugang and Mengjia.

Express passenger and cargo transport operators have eyed the business potentials of Anping Port as a basis for direct transport across Taiwan Strait. Thus, regular direct transport and shipping services are under schedule in the near future. This will not only reduce the costs and workload of inland transport, but also accelerate industrial and commercial development, increase job opportunities, and eventually bring overall prosperity in the greater Tainan area.

    The Tainan City Government and Council attended the briefing to show unity in wishing to transform Anping Port into a free trade zone. Syu-Ming Jheng, Director of the Anping Port Branch Office of the Port of Kaohsiung, TIPC, gave a briefing on the Anping Free Trade Zone. Regarding the establishment application status, on May 7, 2013, the office convened a meeting with Kaohsiung Customs, the city government and other relevant units to discuss the application requirements such as the feasibility planning report, operation plan and financial investment plan. A business recruitment and investigation conference was held jointly with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. On July 2, 26 pages of review and modification notes were received from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. An explanation of modifications has been prepared and is expected to be sent to the TIPC Board of Directors on July 15. The goal is to pass the review by the central government and transform Anping Port into one of the free trade zones by the end of July. Well-known manufacturers such as Ting Hsin International, Chimei Storage Co., KPC Products, TAYA Group, and Yue Hong Shipping have expressed interests in business recruitment.

    In terms of tourism and recreation, the northern shore of Anping Port will be oriented towards a tourist and waterfront port by developing the shore into a waterfront recreation area, cruise terminal, and tourist and commercial area. The areas inside, including a concrete block area, a green area, Wharves No. 19-21 and the northern revetment, Wharves No. 15-18, a yacht terminal and Wharves No. 13-14, and the area outside, including the western, northern and southern sides of Yuguang Island, and the port area will be developed separately at different stages. Jin-Rong Wang, Director of the Development and Construction Department of TIPC, pointed out that the business recruitment conference for the tourism and recreation area development project of Anping Port will be held on July 23 to encourage private investment.

    The attending city representatives and directors of the city government agencies concerned, all expressed high expectations for this project and provided their suggestions. Attention was particularly paid to the ways to thoroughly review relevant operations in the controlled area in regard to the development of the northern shore, including dismantling the wall to merge the port and city and expanding the development scope of Yuguang Island. According to Kuo-Ying Huang, President of the Port of Kaohsiung, TIPC, priorities have been set on the waterfront development of the northern shore for tourism and recreational purposes, Huang said, the proposals will be submitted to the Directorate General of Highways regarding how to combine Yuguang Island into the Anping Harbor Historical Park and to open up Yuguang Bridge. Assistance from the city government is anticipated for the problems of urban planning and other administrative procedures in land expropriation. The business recruitment incentive programs are being planned, while tremendous efforts are made to recruit carriers into the zone for operation.

    After taking into account the opinions from all sectors, Mayor Lai stressed that Anping Port is crucial to the overall development of Tainan City, so the city government will surely spare no effort in cooperating with TIPC. He assured that the city government and TIPC will join hands in passing the free trade zone establishment application in the Executive Yuan by the end of July. Mayor Lai also requested a bilateral cooperation platform coordinated by Mei-Ling Chen, Secretary-General of the city government, for handling relevant matters in budgeting and interface collaboration to turn the port into the pearl of Tainan.

    Tai Min Star, a high-speed passenger and cargo ship that docked at Anping Port as a chartered tourist cruise ship, has recently attracted many business operators. TIPC invited Mayor Lai and the representatives to board the ship for a visit. At 134 meters in length, 9351 gross tons in weight and 19.8 meters in depth, Tai Min Star features six decks including the bridge, passenger cabins and cargo holds, with a capacity of 986 people. Its cargo holds can also accommodate 250 small private vehicles. The carrier specifically opened the quarter-deck for Mayor Lai and his party to enjoy the magnificent view when the ship enters the port. The ship owner, Mr. Lin, stated that at present the ship sails directly to Xiamen, China as a chartered tourist cruise. Regular cruises may be operated in the future if necessary assistance are provided by the government.