Taipei, April 28 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Tuesday that building the Taoyuan Aerotropolis is an important key to Taiwan’s future development and an essential element in Taiwan’s efforts to become more closely connected with the international community.

“Taiwan is exceptionally blessed in terms of its location. I would even advise aliens to take hold of Taiwan if they come to Earth, ” said Ma at the opening ceremony of the 2009 International Conference on Aerotropolis, hosted by Taoyuan County and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

“It would be such a waste if we do not make good use of this advantage and develop it well.”

Because Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is at the center of every major Asian air route, it has more potential than other Asian airports to become a regional hub, Ma said, stressing that the aerotropolis development program will be vital to Taiwan’s future development.

Taoyuan County magistrate Eric Liluan Chu agreed with the president that the project would be of fundamental importance to Taiwan’s long-term development.

Chu acknowledged that the Taoyuan airport’s passenger traffic and freight volume declined in 2008, but he stressed that the international gateway’s future was still bright.

Chu cited Civil Aeronautics Administration forecasts that the airport’s passenger traffic will increase from 21.9 million people in 2008 to 47.5 million people in 2035, and cargo volume will rise from 1.49 million tons in 2008 to 4.03 million tons in 2035.

Chu said Taoyuan County must seize the potential for growth and work hard in cooperation with the central government to convert the airport area into an aerotropolis.

The Taoyuan Aerotropolis project — set to be completed in 2020 — would involve the expansion of existing airport terminals and the establishment of an aerospace industrial park and special zones for cargo, passenger and logistics services.

It is expected to attract NT$1.2 trillion (US$35.5 billion) in investment, while generating NT$600 billion in revenues and creating more than 80,000 jobs.

The goal of the two-day conference is to give experts affiliated with the industrial sector, governments and academia the chance to share their experience and views and use the knowledge gained to ensure that the aerotropolis plan best meets Taiwan’s development needs.

Some 40 experts from home and abroad are attending the conference, including Tom Leppert, mayor of Dallas, U.S., Shigemitsu Tsumura, mayor of Miyazaki, Japan, Cedric Foo, a member of the Singaporean parliament, Peter Trautmann, representative for international projects of Munich Airport, and Brian Joiner, Australia aviation strategy manager of Melbourne Airport. (By Rachel Chan) Enditem/ls