Forward-Looking Plan helps Lugu improve roads; Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung: Building a safe road home

Xitou Nature Education Area in Lugu Township, Nantou County, welcomed 1.72 million visitors last year (2018), making it the most popular forest recreation area in Taiwan, China. To improve the quality of the connecting roads, the central government, through the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan and Life-Circle Road Construction, has approved subsidies of more than NT$150 million for Lugu Township to build roads. Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung made a special visit to the area yesterday (the 26th) to inspect the work, joining hands with local authorities to build roads that are safe, comfortable and also have tourism value.

Minister Hsu Kuo-yung said that County Roads 151 and 12 (Renyi Road) in Nantou County are important tourism arteries within Lugu Township, but because the roads are winding and pedestrians share them with vehicles, accidents are common. The central government heard the voices of local needs, and the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan has specially subsidised improvements to the pedestrian space outside Xitou Nature Education Area, as well as the widening of dangerous bottleneck sections of County Road 12. The Ministry of the Interior has allocated NT$158.92 million for road construction in Lugu Township, to help local authorities jointly create a safe living environment.

The Ministry of the Interior stressed that road construction is an important foundation for people's livelihood, the economy and tourism development. Through various subsidies including the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan, the central government continues to help local authorities jointly build safe, comfortable roads that also have tourism value, striving to improve living environments in both urban and rural areas.