New Taipei Arena Project Fails to Secure Bid for 3rd Time in 2 Years; Mayor Hou Vows to Award Contract Within His Term

(CNA reporter Wang Hung-kuo, New Taipei, 20th) New Taipei City's Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project for a new arena at Banqiao Second Stadium has failed to secure a bidder for the third time in two years, sparking concern among councilors. Mayor Hou Yu-ih stated that he would do his utmost to get the arena project successfully bid out within the final 219 days of his term. During a municipal general interpellation at the New Taipei City Council today, DPP councilor Yamada Moei questioned the three failed bids for the Banqiao arena project. The city government attributed the failures to an unfavorable overall environment, soaring construction costs, and the BOT policy affecting contractor interest. She argued that with the Taiwan stock market surpassing 40,000 points for the past two years, the 'unfavorable environment' claim is questionable. She suggested that the New Taipei Arena might be overshadowed by competition from arenas in Taipei and Taoyuan, leading to continued bidding failures. Hou Yu-ih responded that if the project isn't awarded, all effort is wasted. He noted that the real estate market has been truly dire since 2024, so contractors are naturally concerned about cost-effectiveness. However, he vowed to make every effort to quickly award the arena contract within the last 219 days of his term. He also stressed that this would not mean giving contractors free rein, as the city government will maintain its oversight role. Hung Yu-ling, Director of the New Taipei City Government's Sports Department, said that based on discussions with potential contractors, the current understanding is that they are forming strategic alliances for operations. With the project's concession period set at 50 years, contractors need to calculate costs and profits with greater precision. The Sports Department will continuously review and amend the tender content and continue the bidding process. The Sports Department pointed out that in the first tender for the Banqiao arena, a life insurance company submitted a bid, but it failed during the qualification review because its proposal differed from the public notice. The second and third calls for tenders received no bids, marking a total of three failures. The city will subsequently review various implementation models under the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects and proceed with the tender process. (Editor: Lee Heng-shan) 1150520