The Public Construction Commission of the Executive Yuan has invited all relevant government agencies to review the eco-friendly supervision mechanism for public construction projects. The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the Council of Agriculture will each establish task forces to strengthen "green" reviews in the construction planning stage. Meanwhile, contractors will be selected with consideration of their performance in the areas of energy conservation, emission reduction, environmental protection, waste reduction, costefficiency and durability. The purpose is to establish a green government procurement process and to step up energy conservation and reduce carbon emissions.
When the Executive Yuan passed the four-year, NT$500 billion Economic Revitalization Policy - Project to Expand Investment in Public Works, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan demanded that a proper share of the budget should be reserved for green construction technology and renewable energy. Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan's Council for Economic Planning and Development has also set aside 10 percent of all project budgets for green products.
To carry out these requirements, the Public Construction Commission of the Executive Yuan has invited all relevant agencies to review the eco-friendly supervision mechanism for public construction projects. According to the commission, the government will make a point of factoring in eco-protection, green technology/green material/green design, emission reduction, and renewable energy when it carries out the projects in the four-year, NT$500 billion Economic Revitalization Policy - Project to Expand Investment in Public Works. The costs of such green items should take up no less than 10 percent of an individual project's budget.
In response to the severe impact the global economic downturn has had on Taiwan, the government has adopted the Economic Revitalization Policy - Project to Expand Investment in Public Works and will spend NT$500 billion from 2009-2012 to revitalize the domestic economy in the short-term and to strengthen national competitiveness in the long run . Faced with big increases in global energy and raw material prices and global awareness of the need to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions, public construction projects in Taiwan will not only have to have improved efficiency to save cost, but also should incorporate green ideas to reduce carbon emissions and to better use renewable energy.
Furthermore, all subprojects of the Economic Revitalization Policy - Project to Expand Investment in Public Works should be carried out with higher quality but less time, while the engineers in charge should seamlessly embed the green concepts into all projects. The government hopes that the "locomotive industries" will be able to stimulate all other domestic industries in providing services of higher quality while preserving a healthy environment for future generations.