Institute of Transportation, MOTC

The main issue of the whole project is the construction of the east breakwater. The deep water of the construction site poses great technological challenges, but there are cases abroad in which these difficulties were successfully overcome. This shows that the technology does work effectively. However, the problem lies in how to save the construction costs and meanwhile shorten the time for construction. The manufacturing of caisson, the new construction method of towing and installation, as well as advanced dumping quarry stone depositing and leveling machines should be incorporated to increase the days for operation. Besides, with the three-sided construction, weather forecast system and satellite monitoring system, the speed and precision of construction can be raised and construction time and cost can also be reduced. The manufacturing of caisson should take place in Suao Port, taking into consideration the cost, construction time, and its influence on operation. In order to reduce the cost of materials, the berth construction should begin after the extension of the breakwater. And, we suggest that it would be more appropriate for the private sector to invest in this construction project so that the delay of budget arrangement caused by the government can be avoided and hence save the construction budget. And, it should be designed and constructed by the same company, by using the breakwater and infrastructure in BT scheme, and the Terminal in BOT scheme, respectively. Basic analyses show that, with 20 years of return period, the IRR reaches 19.4% for the BOT scheme. This should be a great attraction of investment to the private sector.

Judging from the experts' evaluations, the Expansion Project of Keelung Port should be feasible. And, also, the construction time could be shortened to 7 years, and the construction cost could be reduced to 37 billion NT dollars. Hence, the detailed planning should be proceeded as soon as possible.