Delays in Zhubei East District Market Project Spark Blame Game Between County and City

The Hsinchu County Government stated today that delays in the Zhubei East District Market construction stem from repeated design changes by the Zhubei City Office and incomplete administrative procedures, making early tendering legally impossible. In response, the Zhubei City Office claims that internal coordination issues and system operations within the county government have affected the project's progress.

According to a press release from the county government, the Zhubei East District Market project had already been tendered and commenced under former Mayor Ho Kan-ming, with an original completion target of September 2024. However, current Mayor Cheng Chao-fang revised the policy and, on February 23, 2023, applied to the county government to terminate the original design and construction plan, effectively resetting the entire project.

The county's Department of Economic Development noted that the Zhubei City Office resubmitted a multi-use plan and market preparation proposal in February 2025 under the name 'Zhubei Waterfront Market.' The county convened a coordination meeting in March 2025 to assist in launching both the market preparation plan and building permit procedures simultaneously. However, after urban design review approval, the city office requested further design changes, forcing administrative procedures to restart. Despite this, the county complied with the urban review and issued the building permit.

The county emphasized that under Article 8 of the Retail Market Management Regulations, the market preparation plan has not yet been approved. The materials submitted by the Zhubei City Office were incomplete and remain uncorrected. Nevertheless, the city has requested tendering before administrative procedures are finalized—a move the county legally cannot accept.

In response, the Zhubei City Office stated in writing that after obtaining urban design review approval in December 2025, it proceeded with the building permit application. The process could have followed an expedited review under standard practice, but inconsistent interpretations of the review method among county departments, repeated decision changes, and malfunctions in the paperless building permit system forced a switch to paper-based reprocessing, delaying the overall timeline.

The city office argued that initiating public works tendering before obtaining a building permit is not prohibited under the Government Procurement Act and cited past cases approved by the county government. Although its request for similar treatment was denied, it respects the county’s review outcome and is proceeding with subsequent steps accordingly.

Currently, the project has obtained the building permit and is legally conducting engineering tendering. The city office pledged to accelerate construction progress and deliver the project on time and to quality standards, fulfilling public expectations for this civic infrastructure. (Edited by Lin Shu-hui)