Taiwan’s Port of Taipei is planning a $558-million expansion over eight years, creating an alternative to existing major ports as trade with China is expected to boom, an official said. The expansion, which is planned in at least three phases, will raise the port’s profile but not likely rival the island’s leading Port of Kaohsiung, which handles about 10 million TEUs per year, and second-ranked Keelung, which handles about 2 million TEUs. The expansion’s first phase, a 119-acre container terminal worth about NT$2 billion ($60 million), will be put up for a build-operate-transfer bid at the end of the year. A 304-acre offshore storage zone costing US$78 million will also go for bid at the end of 2009, Hsiao said, and a US$420-million container terminal also covering 304 acres should go for a bid within three to four years.
