Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) Premier Su Tseng-chang said Sunday that a development plan for Pingtung County, to extend the Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) service there, will also include the establishment of a science park, as part of the efforts to boost the competitiveness of southern Taiwan.
Under the development plan, the HSR line will be extended from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, and a 273-hectare special zone around the new bullet train station will become a hub for technology development in southern Taiwan, Su said.
With the extended HSR line scheduled to start operations in 2029, the development of the science park will be supported by a more convenient transportation network, according to Science and Technology Minister Wu Tsung-tsong .
He said the science park will focus on areas such as agriculture, health and software engineering.
Meanwhile, Su said bidding will start in April for construction of the 17.5-kilometer HSR line, which will replace Kaohsiung's Zuoying as the last stop on the southbound service and will link with Liukuaicuo Station on the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) Pingtung line.
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the new bullet train service will reduce the travel time between Taipei and Pingtung from 124 minutes to 104 minutes, with no transfers required.
