Nangang biotech park gets conditional go-ahead

Publication Date：06/13/2011 Source： Taiwan Today  The Environmental Protection Administration provisionally approved a major development plan for a national biotech park on the site of a military arsenal in Taipei's Nangang District June 10. The development project, proposed by Taiwan's top research institute Academia Sinica, was at the heart of yearlong debate due to environmental concerns as the proposed site includes wetlands and is susceptible to flooding. The newly passed plan saw the floor area for buildings scaled down to 3.05 hectares, about one-third of the originally proposed area, and another 11.94 hectares of surrounding land reserved for wetlands and ecological research. The park, adjacent to Academia Sinica, will cover a total area of 25.31 hectares. "The biotech park project will boost the development of Taiwan's clean industry in the long term," Academia Sinica President Wong Chih-huey said. He added that with the area to be built on reduced to a minimum, the plan will meet the need for ecological conservation and habitat diversity. "There is no conflict between the biotech industry and environmental protection," Wong said. According to the development plan, the biotech park will house a biotechnology development center, bioinformatics center, national laboratory animal center and other research and support facilities. Permission to proceed with the project came with conditions, with the environmental assessment review panel requiring the developer to propose sewage and drainage management standards for the biotechnology industry before the park becomes operational. Academia Sinica must also secure silver-rating green building certification in five categories, and the ecological conservation area and wetland restoration projects must qualify as environmental education sites. The institute is also required to ensure that the flood-retention functions of the area remain intact. The whole project is scheduled for completion in June 2016, according to Academia Sinica, with a budget of NT$22.5 billion (US$781 million). The park is expected to create 2,000 research and development jobs. (THN)