Taipei public land hoarding common: watchdog

Lee Ping-nan and Liu Yu-shan made the remarks at a press conference held to release the results of their investigation into the fact that the National Property Administration (NPA) auctioned off public land parcels in downtown Taipei at record high prices for state-owned land plots in both commercial and residential areas in January this year.

The two members noted that a total of 199 public land parcels in Taipei, amounting to 19.1 hectares, were sold by the NPA to private investors between 2004 and 2009. But as of the end of 2009, 75 out of the 199 public land parcels remained idle, covering around 6.4 hectares. The plots account for 33.67 percent of the combined 19.1-hectare land.

A further breakdown showed that 13 of the 75 idle lots have been granted construction licenses, while 62 have yet to apply for approval. In addition, 32 of the 62 plots have since changed hands, with some being resold for three or four times the original price, according to the two members

The figures indicate that land developers and construction companies are stockpiling land parcels to sell them in a more favorable market for higher prices and greater profits, the members said, adding that they will continue probing whether officials in charge are guilty of dereliction of duty.

In response to the investigation results, NPA officials said the department announced in May a set of rules governing repurchase of state-owned lots sold to private investors in a bid to prevent land-hoarding.

Under the regulations, those who have won the bids to purchase over 100 pings (one ping = 36 square feet) of public land in urban-planning zones, or over 150 pings of land in non-urban planning zones, will see their plots returned to the government for the original price, if the lots have stayed idle for two or three years.

High housing prices in urban areas have been a major complaint among Taiwanese people in recent years, according to public opinion polls.

Market sources said that the most notable public land plot that has remained undeveloped after being sold four years ago is the 2,300-ping site owned by the Combined Logistics Command in the Xinyi Project District.

Shin Kong Life Insurance bought the land parcel at a bidding price of NT$2.74 million per ping in 2006, almost double the floor price. Just one year later, Shin Kong managed to sell the land to the Yuanlih Construction and Tsai Chen-yu, then vice chairman of the Cathay United Group, at a much higher price of NT$4.06 million. The land has yet to be developed.

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