Taiwan Today

Neither recession nor inflation has been allowed to slow the progress of Taiwan's Ten Major Construction Projects. The Republic of China enters its 65th year October 10 with the Big Ten on schedule. To be completed be fore 1980 are two ports and a ship yard, two rail projects, a freeway and airport, steel and petrochemical plants and nuclear power generators. The North-South Freeway is seen here.

 

 

 

 

Work is in progress on the Taoyuan airport, Suao-Hualien railroad, mainline rail electrification, Suao port and Taichung harbor. Completion of the Ten Projects is expected to elevate Taiwan to the ranks of the developed economies in the 1980s. President Chiang Kai-shek was an ardent supporter of infrastructure expansion to keep up with the requirements of rapid economic growth. Premier Chiang Ching-kuo saw to the initial implementation and he and President Yen Chia-kan, other government leaders and the people are pushing the US$6.6 billion undertaking toward completion at maximum speed. Planners and workers have come to regard the building of this new Taiwan as a memorial honoring President Chiang for a lifetime of service.

Construction proceeds on integrated steel mill and big shipyard. Both are at Kaohsiung, the island's second biggest city and largest port. Initial capacity of the steel mill will be 1.5 million metric tons annually. The shipyard is to have construction capacity of 1.5 million tons and repair capacity of 2.5 million tons annually. The world's second biggest drydock will handle a vessel of up to 1 million tons. Among the Ten Projects, power generation will receive nearly half of the total budget. Then come the freeway at 17 percent and steel mill at 11.5 per cent.