Taipei City Government

Mayor Ko Wen-je presided over the ground-breaking ceremony for Hebin High School Foundation Public Housing Project in Neihu in the afternoon of October 29.
 
According to the mayor, the Hebin Public Housing is the city government’s 17^th public housing project to begin constructions. The goal of city hall is to commence work on 35 projects by the end of the year.
 
The total cost of the two buildings of the project – which has been renamed Xingshan Public Housing – is roughly NT$2.6 billion. Each of the building comprises 10 floors and 3 basement floors, and will together provide 526 housing units. The project is slated for completion in May of 2021.
 
The land on which the public housing is located was formerly the construction site of Hebin High School. However, the plan to build a school has been cancelled due to the decline in student population. Ko noted that the first and second floor of the complex will house facilities such as nursery school, senior citizen daycare center, and the future office space of Public Transportation Office.
 
The mayor remarked that the issue of traffic jams in Neihu District has been widely discussed. He stressed that it is not a problem of transportation, but a failure of urban planning. The area of surface roads remains unchanged despite a quadruple growth in population from 75,000 to 300,000. Furthermore, three entry points to the district – Chenggong Bridge, Chengmei Bridge, and Ziqiang Tunnel – must accommodate 150,000 commuters during rush hours on work days. Therefore, the first step towards tackling the traffic issue is to review urban plans.
 
Proposing that the best way is to live and work in Neihu, and that is why all the public housing combined – Ruiguang, Hebin, and Jiuzong public housings – can offer roughly 1,000 house units in total. He hopes that residents who work in Neihu can take advantages of these units, helping them reduce commuting time while lessening the burden on traffic in the vicinity.