The Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) in December reviewed and approved plans for establishing an herbal biotech park in Chiayi County, slated to open in 2007. The CEPD has instructed the county government to begin preparations for attracting occupants as soon as possible. The US$109 million build-operate-transfer (BOT) project will initially be financed by an investment of up to US$50 million, 95 percent to be injected by the central government, 5 percent by the county government. Depending upon the eventual level of private investment, the governments may reduce their stakes in the project. The Chiayi County Government has predicted that upon completion, it will generate a production value of more than US$1.6 billion over a 10-year period. The herbal biotech park is one of five agricultural biotech parks planned as part of a larger program for stimulating development of biotech industries in Taiwan. Construction of two of them--an orchid biotech park and a flower biotech park--are already underway in southern Taiwan.
