Beach restoration program pays dividends in Taitung

2014-09-03

Government efforts aimed at restoring a Nanhsing Coast beach in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County are paying dividends, with a kilometer-long section of sandy shoreline recently reappearing after an absence of 16 years.

Administered by the Directorate General of Highways under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Taitung County Government, the program involves establishing four detached breakwaters on the coast and depositing sand dredged from nearby Shangwu Fishing Port. The breakwaters were constructed with funding of NT$300 million (US$10 million).

TCG official Hsu Chia-hao said restoration efforts highlight the commitment of the central and local governments to improving residents’ quality of life. “The beach will be a major tourist draw and also help stabilize the foundations of the nearby South-Link Highway during typhoon seasons.”

According to Hsu, TCG worked tirelessly over the years to expand the width of the beach from as narrow as 10 meters to the 60 meters of 1998.

“Although voluminous quantities of sand were deposited near the shoreline, the material was soon washed away during typhoon and northeast monsoon seasons,” he said. “We will continue dredging sand from Shangwu port and use it to further enhance the beach.”

Local resident Wang Ching-chang welcomed the re-emergence of the football pitch-sized beach and believes it will prove popular with locals and visitors seeking weekend getaways. “We are all on the same page in hoping our beach is back for good,” he said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=221210&CtNode=413)