Taichung MRT Blue Line budget gap is 100 billion, Lu Xiuyan dumps Japanese BOT, causing controversy

Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen has three months left in her term. The Taichung MRT Blue Line main line project has not been able to cover 1 centimeter in eight years, and the budget has already seen a gap of 100 billion. Lu Hsiao-yen suddenly revealed that Japanese companies want to participate in the Taichung MRT BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) or promote participation. Many Democratic Progressive Party members denounced her as simply looking for a "fig leaf" for the eight-year delay of the Blue Line, covering up the incompetence of zero MRT during her term.

The Jiji Industrial Bureau revealed that Japanese businessmen did visit the city government in the middle of the year, mainly to express interest in land development around the Blue Line and Red Line, including stations, residential buildings and other surrounding developments.

After Lu Hsiao-yen's eight-year tenure, construction of the main line of the elevated section of the Blue Line finally started in August this year. However, when not even 1 centimeter of the Blue Line has been built, the budget of 161.5 billion for the Blue Line has been determined to be insufficient, and there is still a gap of 100 billion that needs to be made up. Lu Hsiao-yen now announced that Japanese businessmen hope to participate in the Taichung MRT promotion or BOT.

Lu Xiuyan said that Japan has the experience and financial resources to do rail construction. The government does not need to contribute money, and there is no need to go back and forth with the central government for funds. One MRT is reviewed for 5 years, which is more efficient. All 7 lines of Taichung MRT have been launched. At present, the blue line has been approved by the central government and has started construction. Taichung will continue Work hard to complete it, and wait for other routes to be approved by the central government. If it is difficult to obtain resources from the central government, you can reconsider "find a way on your own." Since there is no precedent for foreign countries to participate in track construction in Taiwan, and there are still three months left in her term, we must think carefully about whether to make decisions during her term.

Zhou Yonghong, the chief convener of the city council's Democratic Progressive Party, denounced that the current funding gap for the Blue Line has not been resolved yet, and deliberately hyped up the topic and shifted the focus, using "Japanese major companies are interested" as a fig leaf to cover up the lack of progress in the MRT during her tenure.

City Councilor Chen Shuhua also pointed out that the delay of the Taichung MRT Blue Line is an issue that Lu Xiuyan cannot shirk and avoid. The inquiry by Japanese businessmen is more like Lu Xiuyan's typical blame-shifting method. Lu Xiuyan said that switching to BOT will make the construction faster, but she dare not say that the culprit of the delay is Lu Xiuyan. Congressman Jiang Zhaoguo also ridiculed Lu Xiuyan, throwing the wind in the air just to dilute and cover up the fact that Taichung MRT construction was idle during her eight years in office, in an attempt to shift the focus before leaving office.