Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06AITTAIPEI1090
2006-03-30 08:23:00
UNCLASSIFIED
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:
Port of Kaohsiung Resumes Work on Tender for the
how-toVZCZCXYZ0001 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHIN #1090 0890823 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 300823Z MAR 06 FM AIT TAIPEI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9421 INFO RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC RUCPDOC/USDOC WAQC RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4983 RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 9164 RUESLE/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8553 RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5095 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 6178 RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6408 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7714 RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 9699 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 7576
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001090
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS AIT/W, USTR, AND FMC
DEPT FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/TRA
USDOC FOR 4330/ITA/MAC
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE
E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: EWWT ETRD ECON TW
SUBJECT: Port of Kaohsiung Resumes Work on Tender for the
Sixth Container Terminal Project
Ref: A) Taipei 0142 B) 05 Taipei 4305 C) 05 Taipei 3393
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001090
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS AIT/W, USTR, AND FMC
DEPT FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/TRA
USDOC FOR 4330/ITA/MAC
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE
E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: EWWT ETRD ECON TW
SUBJECT: Port of Kaohsiung Resumes Work on Tender for the
Sixth Container Terminal Project
Ref: A) Taipei 0142 B) 05 Taipei 4305 C) 05 Taipei 3393
1. Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau (KHB) recently resumed
preparing a tender for construction of Kaohsiung's Sixth
Container Terminal project, which had been suspended for
nearly four months. KHB had originally planned to begin
tendering invitations to prospective investors in October
2005 (Ref B),but it suspended the project's initial
preparations because Taiwan's Legislature became suspicious
of the inefficiencies of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
projects and decided to place a moratorium on all BOT
projects, of which Kaohsiung's Sixth Container Terminal was
one. (Ref C)
2. Ma Chien-kang, Deputy Chief of KHB's Business
Development Section, told AIT/K that his office recently
learned that the central government's approximately USD62
million subsidy for the project already passed the
Legislative Yuan. Ma noted that the subsidy will be spent
on infrastructure improvement at the construction site.
This improvement will include construction of four wharfs,
container yards, and container handling facilities. On
February 10, 2006, KHB resumed work on the tender by
publishing details of the project and a bidding invitation
in local newspapers and on the KHB website.
3. According to Ma, who is the responsible official for
the project, KHB plans to review and evaluate the
applications between September 24 and December 24, 2006,
and hopes to sign the contract with the successful bidder(s)
in January 2007. KHB hopes that the construction of four
berths can begin by June 2007 and that the berths can begin
to operate as scheduled by 2010.
4. KHB officials acknowledge that more leading shipping
carriers are using larger container vessels for their
businesses. The larger vessels are usually capable of
carrying up to 10,000 TEU containers. However, the Port's
existing facilities are limited only to handling 8,000-TEU
vessels. KHB officials hope that the new container
terminal will become capable of handling larger vessels,
thus effectively keeping the many world level shipping
carriers currently operating in Kaohsiung from leaving.
Alice Liu, KHB's Business Division Director, confirmed the
recent news account that Kaohsiung Harbor had experienced a
continuing drop in container traffic in January and
February 2006 following its first ever setback in freight
handling in 2005. (Ref A) Liu noted that in the first two
months of 2006 the Port handled 0.23 less containers from
the same period a year ago. The transshipment containers
coming through the direct shipping connecting Kaohsiung to
the PRC ports of Fuzhou and Xiamen, also showed a drop of
12.62 from the same period of time in the previous year.
Liu admitted that construction of the new terminal may be
delayed but that without the new facilities the Port of
Kaohsiung very likely may face further marginalization when
the major shipping carriers all decide to move their
businesses to China.
Thiele
Young
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS AIT/W, USTR, AND FMC
DEPT FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/TRA
USDOC FOR 4330/ITA/MAC
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE
E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: EWWT ETRD ECON TW
SUBJECT: Port of Kaohsiung Resumes Work on Tender for the
Sixth Container Terminal Project
Ref: A) Taipei 0142 B) 05 Taipei 4305 C) 05 Taipei 3393
1. Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau (KHB) recently resumed
preparing a tender for construction of Kaohsiung's Sixth
Container Terminal project, which had been suspended for
nearly four months. KHB had originally planned to begin
tendering invitations to prospective investors in October
2005 (Ref B),but it suspended the project's initial
preparations because Taiwan's Legislature became suspicious
of the inefficiencies of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
projects and decided to place a moratorium on all BOT
projects, of which Kaohsiung's Sixth Container Terminal was
one. (Ref C)
2. Ma Chien-kang, Deputy Chief of KHB's Business
Development Section, told AIT/K that his office recently
learned that the central government's approximately USD62
million subsidy for the project already passed the
Legislative Yuan. Ma noted that the subsidy will be spent
on infrastructure improvement at the construction site.
This improvement will include construction of four wharfs,
container yards, and container handling facilities. On
February 10, 2006, KHB resumed work on the tender by
publishing details of the project and a bidding invitation
in local newspapers and on the KHB website.
3. According to Ma, who is the responsible official for
the project, KHB plans to review and evaluate the
applications between September 24 and December 24, 2006,
and hopes to sign the contract with the successful bidder(s)
in January 2007. KHB hopes that the construction of four
berths can begin by June 2007 and that the berths can begin
to operate as scheduled by 2010.
4. KHB officials acknowledge that more leading shipping
carriers are using larger container vessels for their
businesses. The larger vessels are usually capable of
carrying up to 10,000 TEU containers. However, the Port's
existing facilities are limited only to handling 8,000-TEU
vessels. KHB officials hope that the new container
terminal will become capable of handling larger vessels,
thus effectively keeping the many world level shipping
carriers currently operating in Kaohsiung from leaving.
Alice Liu, KHB's Business Division Director, confirmed the
recent news account that Kaohsiung Harbor had experienced a
continuing drop in container traffic in January and
February 2006 following its first ever setback in freight
handling in 2005. (Ref A) Liu noted that in the first two
months of 2006 the Port handled 0.23 less containers from
the same period a year ago. The transshipment containers
coming through the direct shipping connecting Kaohsiung to
the PRC ports of Fuzhou and Xiamen, also showed a drop of
12.62 from the same period of time in the previous year.
Liu admitted that construction of the new terminal may be
delayed but that without the new facilities the Port of
Kaohsiung very likely may face further marginalization when
the major shipping carriers all decide to move their
businesses to China.
Thiele
Young