MOA defends slow approval of Huwei plans

DELIBERATE DELAYS? The project was sent for review seven times from March 2024 to last month, while the MOA said that supplementary documents are still missing

• By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter

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The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Friday defended its handling of a farmland conversion proposal by the Huwei Industrial Park development project, saying it had reviewed the plan in accordance with the law, and asked the Yunlin County Government to provide additional documents.

The ministry made the remarks after the county government criticized it for repeatedly questioning the project.

The county government proposed the project in 2024, aiming to construct an industrial park in the county’s Huwei Township (虎尾).

The Ministry of Agriculture building in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph.

Photo: Taipei Times

The project site is located 300m south of the Central Taiwan Science Park’s Huwei Science Park near the Taiwan High Speed Rail’s (HSR) Yunlin Station, covering 29.75 hectares.

The county government on Thursday issued a press release, saying it had sent the project to central authorities for review seven times from March 2024 to last month.

The proposal was “repeatedly met with skepticism from the agriculture ministry,” which has yet to approve its proposed conversion of agricultural land, it said.

The county government also questioned the ministry’s demand made last month for prior approval from the Executive Yuan to recognize the project as a major investment or major infrastructure project.

Without the Executive Yuan’s approval, the ministry would deny the project’s necessity of development — a stricter standard compared with other proposed industrial park construction plans, the county government said.

The Southern Taiwan Science Park’s Chiayi Science Park, the Baipu Industrial Park in Kaohsiung and the Pingtung Science Park — which are all under construction — also applied to the central agricultural authority for farmland conversion, it said.

Their farmland conversion proposals were not met with the same skepticism and were approved by the ministry, citing that they aligned with the Executive Yuan’s policy, or that their development necessity had been recognized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) or local governments, the county government said.

The MOA on Friday rebutted claims that it “deliberately made things difficult” for the project, adding that it reviews the land use change proposal based on the principle of safeguarding agricultural production environment and agricultural workers’ welfare.

The project not only covers about 29 hectares for the industrial park, but is also planning to expand the into a 250-hectare science park in the future, the MOA said.

The county government in 2021 said that it expected the proposed Huwei Industrial Park to be an extension of the Central Taiwan Science Park’s Huwei Science Park for building a regional industrial chain.

Industrial parks and science parks have different development approaches and land use planning, while the development of local industrial chains must be considered as well, the MOA said.

The MOA also cited the National Science and Technology Council as saying that the Central Taiwan Science Park’s Huwei Science Park currently does not to be expanded.

The Huwei Industrial Park project proposed by the county government includes farmland designated as part of the local specific agricultural zone.

The farmland provides a good agricultural production environment in the vicinity of Maguang Organic Group Cultivation Area (馬光有機集團栽培區), the MOA said.

It is also within the monitored areas of land subsidence along the Taiwan HSR line, it said.

The MOA has asked the county government multiple times to submit supplementary documents addressing concerns over the project’s farmland conversion proposal, it said.

Key issues include unclear industrial positioning, water conflicts between the industry and agriculture, insufficient groundwater monitoring, low water reuse rates, local residential and transportation safety, as well as existing backlash from local farmers and residents, the MOA said.

The county government has yet to submit documents to fully account for the issues, it said, adding that on Sept. 17 it asked the MOEA to assist the county government with document preparation.

The MOA said it reviewed farmland conversion proposals in accordance with Article 10 of the Agricultural Development Act (農業發展條例) and relevant regulations.

The MOA did not review the Huwei Industrial Park project’s farmland conversion proposal differently from others previously submitted, it said, adding that it would handle the project with the nation’s industrial development, agricultural sustainability and farmers’ benefits in mind.