Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) The government approved Thursday an urbanrenewal project under which it plans to spend over NT$18 billion(US$592 million) on building renovation.

The project is expected to generate NT$200 billion in economicoutput, help the economy to grow by 0.12 percentage point year-on-yearover the next four years.

The proposal by the Interior Ministry will provide NT$18.4billion from 2011 through 2014 in subsidies to 20,000 houses 20 yearsor older to renew.

The government will encourage constructors to adoptearth-friendly techniques and make new buildings more quake-proof andbarrier-free for the disabled with a maximum of 20 percent more floorspace, said Huang Wang-Hsiang, deputy minister of the Council forEconomic Planning and Development (CEPD).

Currently there are about 3 million houses in Taiwans that aremore than 30 years old, said Premier Wu Den-yih after being briefedon the project at the Executive Yuan.

It is necessary to improve the residents' quality of life byurban renewal, Wu noted. He asked the ministry to encourage the useof low-carbon and energy saving technologies in the renewal project.

The economic value of construction and related industries isestimated at over NT$7 trillion if all of the 7.8 million housesolder than 20 years throughout the country undergo renovation in theurban renewal effort, according to a government report.

(By Ho Meng-kuei and Kendra Lin)
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