New botanical garden to be built: COA

According to the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) of the COA, the new garden is part of the bureau's larger plan to upgrade and promote all the nation's botanical gardens within the next 15 years.

The project has a predicted cost of NT$1.78 billion and is divided into three terms, each estimated to require five years to complete.

The plan in the first term involves upgrading all existing botanical gardens in the nation, including the Taipei Botanical Garden, Yilan's Fushan Botanical Garden and Hengchun Tropical Botanical Garden.

The predicted cost for the first term is NT$740 million, with NT$440 million allotted for the Taipei and Fushan botanical gardens and NT$300 million for Hengchun's tropical garden.

The second and third term will be devoted to the building of a new national botanical garden.

According to TFRI, the new garden will be built in one of the following existing forest recreation areas: Pingtung Shilin, Chiayi Au-Gu and Hualian's forest park.

The yet-to-be built garden will be three times the size of current botanical gardens and will be home to a wider variety of plants, including those grown overseas, TFRI said. The COA voiced plans to make the botanical garden comparable to those in Europe and the U.S.

The TFRI added that there will be no entry fee for the new garden as its purpose is to conserve forests and educate the public; although, the new national park could increase tourism and boost related businesses, potentially bringing in an estimated NT$95 million per year.

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