Work starts on Taichung high speed rail shopping complex

Taipei, June 30 (CNA) The Taichung City Government held a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for a new shopping complex near Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Taichung Station scheduled to open in 2026.

The NT$26 billion (US$799 million), 15-hectare project will involve the building of the nation's largest shopping mall, as well as movie theaters, a 5-star luxury hotel and Class A office buildings, according to the city government.

At Sunday's groundbreaking ceremony, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said the development project has promising prospects but may bring about traffic issues in the peripheral areas.

Lu said that the city government would work with the Railway Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Yi Da International Development Co., the company in charge of the project, to address these issues.

The city government has proposed creating a corridor on the second floor of the THSR station to provide access to the planned shopping center site, and is seeking the central government's support to build a highway interchange near the site to help solve traffic congestion, Lu said.

Eiichi Harashima, Japanese chairman of Di Yi Da International Development, said that over the past year, he has assembled several designers from Taiwan and abroad for the project.

According to Harashim, the shopping mall is expected to create 18,000 jobs and boost the local economy and development.

Di Yi Da signed a contract in 2021 with the Railway Bureau to invest NT$26 billion to build and operate the D-ONE Di Yi Da shopping complex.

The development site will be located in an area near THSR Taichung Station that houses THSR, the Taiwan Railway and MRT systems, and is near several highways, the local government said.