1.Reasons for Implementation:
Yunlin County is a major agricultural county in Taiwan, renowned as the "Agricultural Capital." Considering the need for balanced regional development, beyond water infrastructure construction, there is also a focus on integrating local landscape environments. In response to local public opinions, President Tsai Ing-wen conducted an on-site inspection of Huwei Town on October 19, 2019, with the expectation of transforming Huwei into a charming town. Consequently, The Water Resources Agency planned to initiate the project from the bank of Beigang River, aiming to use the "waterfront integration" strategy to bring people closer to water, making Huwei the pioneering example of a "resilient town" in national planning.
2.Characteristics of the "Hoowave The Water Factory" Project:
(1)A New Beginning for River Aesthetics: Breaking through traditional river engineering designs, innovative thinking is introduced to establish a demonstration case of river design aesthetics from the perspective of a resilient town. Through the "waterfront integration" strategy, relationships between people and water are brought closer, marking a new beginning for river aesthetics, incorporating Huwei Sugar Factory, Anqing Canal, and Pinghe Detention Basin. Water landscape is integrated into daily life.
(2)International Collaboration: The overall planning involved an international competition in 2022, attracting seven bidders (including two foreign companies). The evaluation committee, consisting of two international-level members from the Netherlands and Singapore, as well as 13 domestic experts in ecology, landscape, and water resources, conducted a two-stage evaluation process. Eventually, The Urbanists Collaborative and MVRDV were awarded the project.
(3)Collaboration between Central and Local Authorities: During the promotion period, the Ministry of Economic Affairs actively coordinated with the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and the Irrigation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, to provide part of the land needed for this project. Cooperation was also established with local institutions such as St. Joseph's Hospital, the Yunlin County Government, the Huwei Township Office, and Huwei University of Science and Technology.
3.Estimated Total Budget: NTD 903 million (Master Plan: NTD 51 million, Construction: NTD 852 million), explained as follows:
(1)Beautification of Beigang River Project: Conducted in two phases, requiring a budget of NTD 250 million. Phase one, with a budget of NTD 190 million, was contracted in December 2023 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Phase two, with a budget of NTD 60 million, is scheduled to be contracted in 2024 and completed by the end of 2025. It is expected to create high-quality landscape spaces, attract tourist crowds, optimize the traffic routes of river embankment roads and Zhongshan Road, and provide a pedestrian-friendly environment.
(2)Beautification of Anqing Canal Project: The required budget is NTD 602 million, divided into three cases (Anqing Canal waterfront environment, Qingpu Diversion Channel, and improvement around the alcohol tank). It is scheduled to be contracted in 2025 and completed in 2026. The project aims to improve flooding issues in the Huwei area, enhance water quality, and elevate environmental aesthetics by revitalizing space usage around the century-old alcohol tank monument.
4.Overview of "Hoowave The Water Factory" as attached in the document.