An official ceremony to mark the completion of work on Wharf A6-B and the emplacement of the future assembly facility’s central beam was held today (Wednesday, September 11^th, 2024) at 11:00am at Port of Kaohsiung’s Intercontinental Terminal (KIT, Phase 1). The dignified ceremony was attended by TIPC President Chin-jung Wang and senior officials from related public and private organizations.

The Wharf 6 reclamation and revetment project, which commenced in January 2023 and is scheduled for completion in December of this year, is fully funded by the government at NT$2.0 billion and will add two new heavy duty cargo wharves to the expanding KIT. For its part, IWE is committed to investing a total of NT$5.0 billion. First, the company is constructing a 400m-long facility to manufacture all of the components necessary to assemble underwater jacket foundations for offshore wind turbines. IWE will then build a jacket foundation assembly and storage base on hinterland in Port of Kaohsiung Wharf 75. The 200m-long assembly facility, 1500mt outdoor rail-mounted gantry cranes, and other specialized equipment will be optimized to facilitate the efficient assembly, storage, and offshore transfer of these jacket foundations. The TIPC-built A6-B heavy duty cargo wharf is reinforced and designed to be berthed from the front and side, allowing for both dockside crane and self-propelled modular transporter SPMT loading operations, facilitating the smooth delivery of these massive jacket foundations to offshore wind farms and ensuring this wharf’s central role in Taiwan’s offshore windfarm industry going forward.

TIPC President Wang noted that expanding the domestic offshore wind farm industry is a top national green infrastructure development priority and that, in line with this, his company is actively promoting the development of a comprehensive industry ecosystem that leverages southern Taiwan’s deep manufacturing infrastructure and experience to deliver reliable, long-term support to the country’s offshore wind farm sector. On the path to achieving national green infrastructure goals, the public-private partnership with IWE that is currently building out a permanent base for the production, storage, and dispatch of underwater jacket foundations will continue leveraging the world’s most advanced technologies, training core industry talent, and expanding job opportunities in southern Taiwan. TIPC, President Wang continued, is fully committed to creating the world-class conditions necessary for all stakeholders, including Port of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung City, and the wind power industry to succeed.

IWE Chairman Shih-ming Liao said that today’s beam-setting ceremony fittingly marks the successful conclusion of months of project planning and basic construction work. “Our company is, step by step, facilitating the realization of Taiwan’s overall vision for the domestic wind power industry,” he shared. “We are grateful to TIPC for finishing Heavy duty Cargo Wharf A6-B both on schedule and on spec. This has taken Taiwan’s wind power industry another significant step forward. IWE also fully affirms the planning and support provided to our industry by the government as we work together to accomplish net-zero emission goals.

The lease signed between Port of Kaohsiung, with its exceptional hub-port advantages, comprehensive port facilities, and streamlined, highly efficient operations, and IWE, with its internationally state-of-the-art assembly technologies and advanced wind turbine facilities, promises a great return on value for both parties. This relationship further affirms IWE’s long-term relationship with Kaohsiung, creates a model for future successful public-private partnerships at Taiwan ports, and moves the entire sector a significant step forward toward creating the domestic industry ecosystem necessary to one day supplying wind power components and expertise to markets in Southeast Asia and across the Asia Pacific Region.