Cabinet approves additional NT$25 billion for Guangfu reconstruction

Taipei, Oct. 9 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved draft amendments to a special act for post-disaster recovery work, allocating an additional NT$25 billion (US$770 million) to accelerate reconstruction in Hualien County's Guangfu Township, which was devastated by overflow from Matai'an Creek barrier lake on Sept. 23 during Typhoon Ragasa.

The Legislature passed the special act proposed by the Executive Yuan in August following extensive flooding caused by Typhoon Danas in July, raising the budget ceiling to NT$60 billion from NT$56 billion.

The amendments raise the total recovery budget from NT$60 billion to NT$85 billion and extend the act's implementation through Dec. 31, 2028, with new rehabilitation measures in place until the end of 2030.

The additional funds will focus on five key areas -- barrier lake monitoring and sediment control, resettlement of affected residents, drainage and road repairs, farmland restoration and post-disaster waste cleanup.

According to the Cabinet, of the NT$25 billion, NT$10.7 billion will be allocated for barrier lake management, NT$4 billion for water resource facilities, NT$3.25 billion for roads and transportation, NT$2.65 billion for housing and public works, NT$500 million for agricultural facilities and NT$478 million for social and industrial recovery, with NT$3.42 billion set aside as contingency funds.

Under the amendments, the Public Construction Commission of the Executive Yuan will serve as the competent authority for the special act. The respective central competent authorities will act as the central implementing agencies, while local implementation will be carried out by municipal and county (city) governments, as well as township, city, and district offices, including district offices of mountain indigenous areas under special municipalities.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the government declared all of Hualien County a disaster area on Sept. 30, and the amended act will provide the legal basis for future funding of barrier lake-related reconstruction.

Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the amendments will be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review, and only after its passage can the Cabinet formally propose a special budget.

Lee urged lawmakers to review the amendments swiftly, noting that revising the existing act is faster and more efficient than drafting a new one as some opposition lawmakers have proposed.

Meanwhile, Minister without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng (季連成), who serves as chief coordinator at the Central Emergency Operation Center, said 89 households in Guangfu remain affected by mud and sediment, with 49 already cleared.

Structural safety checks will follow, and the government will survey residents' housing preferences before rebuilding to ensure new homes meet actual needs, he added.