locate NT$630 million (US$19.09 million) over the next four years as part of a plan to enhance the sector's global competitiveness, government officials said yesterday. Based on recent developments, the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) forecasts the annual production of machine tool and parts industries will both reach NT$340 billion by 2015.
In 2006, the overall machinery sector was expected to have a total output of NT$800 billion, and it is hoped to become the next trillion-dollar industry, following the semiconductor and color monitor industries, IDB officials said.
The machine tool industry, which plays a crucial role in the overall machinery sector, generated a record-high production value of more than NT$100 billion in 2005, officials indicated, adding that this splendid performance pushed the development of machinery components industry to even higher output values, exceeding NT$100 billion in 2005 and NT$125 billion in 2006.
With a view to still greater developments in the promising sector, the IDB plans to initiate an upgrading project, which it hopes will make Taiwan one of the world's three largest manufacturers of machinery components, and the main research and development center for advanced and high-precision machinery components in Asia, the officials said.
The IDB predicted that the project will help establish 10 flagship machine tool enterprises in Taiwan with a production value of more than NT$10 billion each.
