Taipei City Government

Mayor Ko Wen-je presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the Songshan Minquan East Government-organized Urban Renewal Project on June 8.
 
During his address, the mayor remarked that Taipei City Urban Renewal Promotion Center has been reorganized into the Taipei Housing and Urban Regeneration Center (THURC) in May. The site of the groundbreaking ceremony is the first construction project handled by the agency, and he expects another five or six more projects to follow later this year. He is confident that THURC will continue to play a key role in private-public partnership in the future.
 
He added that government-organized urban renewal is an area which the city government proactively promotes, hoping to improve the living quality of residents. Currently, the city government is working on 18 construction projects across the city.
 
The Songshan Minquan East complex comprises Lot A and Lot B. The project attracted roughly NT$3.29 billion in private investment. Current, the plan for the edifice on Lot A spotlights a 15-story office building with 4 basement floors, while Lot B will house a 10-floor residential building. The buildings are slated for completion in 2025.
 
The mayor expressed his gratitude to the support of Kindom Construction Corporation and the company’s head Mike Ma. In the past, the partners in urban regeneration have worked together on cases including Daji Beian Section and Keda Ruian Section. The collaborations set an example of successful private-public-partnership.
 
Ko hopes that THURC will continue to operate in the forefront of private-public partnership. Since urban renewal is a major policy for Taipei City Government, the focus will be on how to implement the policy with efficiency. He believes that with the establishment of a working framework, the next part will be on how to further refine the mechanism to yield higher efficiency.