Taiwan: Local shipbuilder to build four coal carriers for Taipower

Taiwan's largest shipbuilder, CSBC Corp., Taiwan, is slated to sign a contract with Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) later Friday for the building of four 93,300-ton coal carriers, a CSBC source said. The four bulk carriers, designed for operation in the expanded Panama Canal, are scheduled to be completed in two years and to be christened and launched by the end of 2011, the CSBC official said. The ship-building contract will create an estimated 3,500 jobs and contribute to lifting the sagging economy in southern Taiwan, the official said. The contract, worth some NT$6 billion (US$181.81 million), is the biggest order that CSBC Corp., Taiwan has received since the start of the global economic crunch in 2008 and is expected to prop up the cash-strapped CSBC, he added. The launch of the four carriers will also help to raise Taipower's rate of self-transported imported coal, lower cross-continent transport costs, and allow better access to supply resources, the CSBC official said.