TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, the Justice Ministry's Agency Against Corruption, and Investigation Bureau have launched an investigation into alleged cost inflation tied to state-owned CPC Corporation’s construction of the Guantang LNG terminal in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District.
An investigative team searched CPC headquarters in Taipei’s Xinyi District, the headquarters of CECI Engineering Consultants Inc., and nine additional sites, per Tai Sounds. The team also questioned 13 individuals and named three as defendants: former CECI Chair Shih I-fang (施義芳), senior harbor engineering official Chang Chin-sen (張欽森), and Chang’s subordinate, General Manager Chen Chien-chung (陳建中).
The team said the searches were conducted to determine whether project costs were deliberately inflated. The case is being investigated under the Anti-Corruption Act, which carries penalties of up to life imprisonment.
The Guantang LNG terminal is a key part of former President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) energy transition policy, aimed at replacing coal-fired power with natural gas. To reduce harm to nearby algal reefs, the terminal’s receiving docks were moved farther offshore.
According to widely reported accounts of a telephone recording, after receiving an initial estimate of NT$9.4 billion (US$290 million), CPC allegedly pressed repeatedly for higher figures, with the estimate eventually rising to NT$25.3 billion. The authorities reportedly received tips in August but did not act until the whistleblower went to the media.
Investigators have since verified the recording, per Tai Sounds. Tung Pi Construction has admitted to inflating cost estimates in coordination with CPC, while Hwang Chang Construction ultimately won the bid, per UDN.
CECI urged the public not to speculate while the investigation is ongoing and said it is cooperating fully, per LTN. All employees questioned so far have been released.
Pan Chung-cheng (潘忠政), leader of the algal reef referendum campaign, said authorities should have launched an investigation earlier, per Commercial Times. He argued that CPC’s construction has already caused irreparable harm to local reefs and accused the company of refusing to acknowledge its mistakes.
Pan called on the authority to resist political pressure and help restore Taoyuan’s coastline.
