Kaohsiung | Marine council to be headquartered in Kaohsiung

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Marine council to be headquartered in Kaohsiung

Source: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiw.../21/2003689725

By Lo Tien-pin and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer


The Council of Marine Affairs, to be established next month, is to be housed in Kaohsiung’s Software Technology Park, the Cabinet said.

The council, which is to oversee the offices of marine conservation and research, as well as the Coast Guard Administration, would be the first central government department in Kaohsiung.

The council is to rent the space for four years at a cost of NT$79.9 million (US$2.74 million), said a senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Asked whether the council would seek to purchase its own office space, the official said that while the decision would require further planning, the government would likely purchase an office building if more central government departments move to the city.

While the coast guard office would remain in Taipei, council officials, conservationists and researchers would be stationed at the Kaohsiung office, the official said, adding that the three groups would work together as a single department.

The office is to be in the building that houses Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s research and development facilities, the official said.

The lease was signed last month and renovations are under way, the official said.

The location was chosen because the Ministry of Science and Technology has a marine technology research center in the city, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said.

Since the responsibilities of the new council are to overlap with those of the center, the government hopes to merge the two to increase their efficiency, he added.

Meanwhile, preparations for the committee’s establishment are being handled mostly by the coast guard, although its responsibilities would go far beyond those traditionally handled by the coast guard, sources said.


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