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Kinmen County, which is located in the offshore waters of Taiwan Island 190km away, has always been the outpost guarding the Taiwan-Penghu region. Its economic development has been hobbled by the battlefield government administration implemented for years and the resource shortage on the island. Most subsistence materials for Kinmen region have for long been shipped to Liaoluo Port from Taiwan Island. During the period of battlefield government administration, the supply was not satisfactory but could meet the basic demands. After the battlefield government administration was dissolved on November 7, 1992 and the island was open for tourism, the sea transport volume rose drastically, which leads to a gradual deficiency in the cargo handling capacity of the Liaoluo Port. If no countermeasures are worked out at an earliest possible time to properly improve or increase the port facilities, the existing facilities will certainly be insufficient to meet the future sea transport demands and further curb the overall development of Kinmen region.
However, the government policy has always been to thoroughly improve the traffic connections between Taiwan and Kinmen and between Large and Small Kinmen Islands, to enhance the living quality of local residents, and to promote local economic development. As early as 1989, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (“MTC”) performed a “Study on Kinmen Harbor Facilities Development Project” according to the instructions of the superior authority. Then, the Kinmen County Government completed the study on “Plan of Kinmen County Shueitou Domestic Commercial Port (“SDCP”) Project” in 1994. Accordingly, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (“CEPD”), Executive Yuan, convened the Ministry of National Defense, Kimman Defense Command, Kinmen County Government and MTC to study and discuss the project on September 15, 1995, to prove the necessity of the Shueitou Port Project, whereas the operation and scale of the port should be subjected to further studies. Consequently, MTC Institute of Transportation completed the study on “Kinmen County SDCP Subsequent Planning” in 1997 and adjusted the scale and layout of SDCP as the basis for the subsequent operations.
On August 2, 1996, the County Government received the document numbered JiaoHang(85)Zih005018 from the MTC and accordingly commenced the first-phase construction project, which included 7 docks, breakwaters and other facilities at a total of NT$4.5 billion. Having been approved by the CEPD, the project was implemented over 5 years. To perform general review of the sea transport demands and overall development strategy for the Kinmen region, the County Government commissioned the Institute of Harbor Technology, Bureau of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan Province (which has been restructured into Center of Harbor Technology, MTC Institute of Transportation) to finish in 1998 the study on “Kinmen Sea Transport Development Appraisal Project,” which, on the basis of the SDCP being constructed, planned to improve the software and hardware facilities of Liaoluo Port and Jiougong Docks.
According to the results of the aforesaid projects and the “Kinmen County Comprehensive Construction Project (2000~2004)” approved under the document numbered Tai88NeiZhi26634 issued by the Executive Yuan on July 8, 1999, the County Government not only actively carried out the Liaoluo Shallow Docks Expansion Project to meet the demand of transport volume growth in the short term, but also pushed along the “Kinmen SDCP Overall Planning” project, which was reviewed and conditionally accepted by the Environmental Protection Administration on October 21, 1999 and for which a public Explanatory Conference was held on January 27, 2000. In the meantime, the County Government submitted the “Kinmen SDCP Overall Planning and Future Development Plan” which was reviewed and ratified by the MTC on February 16, 2000 and further submitted to the Executive Yuan in the document numbered JiaoHang89Zih019030 on April 10, 2000, but in the responsive document numbered Tai89Jiao10206 issued on April 10, 2001, the Executive Yuan instructed: “….should conscientiously study and prepare the Kinmen Harbor Overall Planning and Future Development Plan for review and accordingly develop a proposal on this project for approval; the expenditure required should be listed year by year in annual budget according to the budget preparation and review procedure after submitted to the Public Construction Commission, Executive Yuan for review and approval according to the relevant administration procedure. ”
Subsequently, the County Government submitted according the relevant procedure the “Kinmen Harbor Overall Planning and Future Development Plan,” for which the CEPD instructed in the document numbered Dou89Zih03399 after the review: “….., the existing Liaoluo Port is about to undergo the necessary renovation and expansion to meet the demand of establishing traffic links with Mainland China. Therefore, the Liaoluo Port Development Project and SDCP Construction Project should be compared in a comprehensive way and cautiously evaluated for development of the most appropriate project….” The MTC also instructed that the County Government should, according to the document numbered Tai89Jiao24224 issued by the Secretary General of the Executive Yuan on August 14, review and revise the Liaoluo Port Improvement and Expansion Project to supplement and modify the “Kinmen SDCP Overall Planning and Future Development Plan” (such as adding the detailed geographic information), provide a comprehensive comparison and cautious evaluation of the Liaoluo Project and the SDCP Construction Project, specify the functions and market position of and the indispensable improvements for Jiougong Docks at Small Kinmen Island, and propose improvements for the planning, construction, business administration of Kinmen Harbor, and then resubmit the amended proposal to the MTC and the Executive Yuan for review and approval.
To carry out the harbor construction projects for Kinmen and obtain approval for the SDCP development project from the Central Government at the earliest possible time to boom the economic development of Kinmen region, the MTC held a meeting on October 9 and further instructed the County Government to review the SDCP Docks Layout Plan in cooperation with the Center of Harbor Technology.
According to the instruction of the superior authorities, the County Government conscientiously performed all the required information evaluation, revision, supplementation and investment. During this period, the CEPD Project Group for Review and Evaluation of Public Construction Plans completed the “Aviation and Harbor Second-Level Review and Evaluation Report,” and suggested that Kinmen be planned as an integrated harbour composed of three ports (Liaoluo, Shueitou and Jiougong). Therefore, Kinmen Harbor was ratified by the Executive Yuan on December 4, 2000, as a domestic commercial harbour composed of three ports, including the Liaoluo Port, Shueitou Port, and Jiougong Port.
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