Taichung Mayor Lu to Ask Central Gov't if MRT Green Line Extension Can Be Built in Phases

(CNA, by Chao Li-yen, Taichung, May 21) The Taichung MRT Green Line's planned northern extension to Dakeng and southern extension to Changhua cannot be approved because the urban plan for the Changhua section has not been passed. A Taichung City councilor has demanded the city government proceed with the sections separately, and Mayor Lu Shiow-yen stated today that she will send a formal inquiry to the central government about whether the design and construction can be divided. The Taichung City Council held a regular session today where Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) City Councilor Tseng Chao-jung expressed concern over the project. The MRT Green Line extension is designed to be 10 kilometers long, with a 2-station northern section to Dakeng and a 6-station southern section into downtown Changhua. The city's Mass Rapid Transit Bureau completed the comprehensive planning and final report review last year and submitted it to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) for review at the end of February this year. Due to the failure to approve the Zhangdong Expanded Urban Plan for the Changhua section, the MRT Green Line extension review can only proceed after the urban plan is approved. Tseng mentioned that Taichung citizens have been waiting six years for the Green Line extension to Dakeng, and it is now being held up by Changhua's urban planning. He noted that he had warned years ago that the northern and southern extensions should be separated, but the city government bundled them together, leading to Changhua's urban planning issues affecting the construction of the Dakeng extension. He demanded that the city government propose the priority approval and construction of the Dakeng section to the central government. In response, Lu Shiow-yen said she will send a formal letter to the MOTC to ask if the work can be done separately. If the MOTC indicates it can be, the Taichung City Government will follow the central government's directive, and work on the Dakeng section can begin immediately. "I would be even happier if it can be split," she said. Lu added that the plan submitted by the city was originally for "one-time approval, phased construction," and the documents are currently sitting with the MOTC. She hopes the central government can clarify the situation and not leave it to local governments to coordinate among themselves. Transportation Bureau Director Yeh Chao-fu pointed out that the budget for the northern and southern extensions of the MRT Green Line is about NT$200 billion, with the Dakeng section accounting for about NT$70 billion. He noted that this scale is relatively small, and since the MRT's electromechanical engineering relies on international firms, splitting the northern and southern extensions could make it difficult to award the contract for the electromechanical systems.