The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) Gangshan-Lujhu Extension Line (Lujhu Hunei section) completed the “last mile.” The Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (Taiwan) (EPA) convened a review committee meeting on July 13, 2022, where the Environmental Impact Statement of the KMRT System Gangshan-Lujhu Extension Line (Second Phase-B) was discussed. The meeting was conducted via video conferencing. After a discussion of the results among the environmental impact assessment commissioners, the review conclusion drawn was “The review has been approved.”

The 423^rd Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) General Meeting Review was held on July 13, 2022. Upon approval of the review, the suggestions of the commissioners and supplemental notes to the review conclusions were included in the final draft, made into an environmental impact assessment report and submitted to the competent authority for recognition. Pertaining to the environmental impact assessment commissioners’ suggestion items, the Mass Rapid Transit Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government will try its best to put in place various ecological environment protection measures. In the future, the environmental impact assessment commitment items will be implemented during the construction period, thereby reducing the impact of the construction on the locality.

The starting point of the “Gangshan-Lujhu Extension Line (Second Phase-B) route is linked to the start of the station tail rail of the “Gangshan-Lujhu Extension Line (Second Phase-A), which passes through Jhongshan Rd., Lujhu District, Kaohsiung City to Sec. 1, Jhongshan Rd., Hunei District, Kaohsiung City. The entire route measures about 3.79km and two elevated stations were set up. The approval of the Environmental Impact Statement was the key to the approval of the comprehensive planning report by the Executive Yuan. If subsequently successfully approved by the central government, the Mass Rapid Transit Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government will continue to move toward the objective of “Completing the construction of the entire Gangshan Lujhu extended line and opening the facility to traffic by 2029.”

The north axis of the Kaohsiung metropolitan area mainly provides services to 354,000 people in Gangshan, Lujhu, Hunei and other Greater Gangshan areas. The services cover major parks with outputs worth several hundred billion dollars, which are even an important part of the semiconductor materials S corridor in southern Taiwan. The MRT construction not only meets the existing transportation demands and provides good public transportation services, but also assume the responsibility of boosting local development.