Business

Kaohsiung City to promote yacht industry

• Publication Date：04/23/2010
• Source： Economic Daily News

Kaohsiung City will team up with the Taiwan Yacht Industry Association to promote the development of the yachting industry within the southern port city, it was announced during a signing ceremony April 22.

The announcement came a week after the American Chamber of Commerce released a white paper recommending that Kaohsiung turn its “South Star” land reclamation project into one of the world’s main yacht manufacturing centers.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu and TYIA Chairman John Lu. They put their signatures to a letter of intent that calls for the public and private sectors to join hands in developing a designated industrial zone for the yacht sector in the port city.

Within the industrial zone will be a complete supply chain that includes raw material suppliers, hardware producers, contract manufacturres and logistics companies. The solar-powered industrial park, designed to generate low carbon emissions, will also house a waterfront area and docking facilities that cater to the needs of yacht builders capable of producing mega yachts more than 120 feet in length, according to Chen.

In order to create a production center for luxury yachts, the mayor said, the city government has set aside 105 hectares of land to be created from the city’s “South Star” project.

In addition, the Executive Yuan has earmarked a budget of NT$2.4 billion (US$76.44 million) for a project that aims to create a marine-aviation center in the greater Kaohsiung area, Chen said.

The manufacturing zone, scheduled for completion in 2015, is expected to create output of NT$10 billion per year and provide between 5,000 and 8,000 jobs, the mayor said.

Taiwan leads its Asian rivals in yacht exports and ranks fifth in the global market, Chen noted. Among the country’s 31 yacht builders, 19 are based in Kaohsiung, accounting for 80 percent of the sector’s total output in value terms.

Yacht builders in both Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County are in full support of the development project, she said, as a designated zone will further benefit their export business.

Lu said he expects 15 yacht builders, five hardware producers and several importers and exporters to set up operations in the industrial zone. (SFC-HZW)