Fogo de Chão Signs Development Agreement for Costa Rica and El Salvador

Four-unit deal with leading developer Arguedas Group will bring the global restaurant brand to Central America for the first time

BarraShopping

Fogo de Chão recently opened the doors to its newest Brazil location at Rio de Janeiro’s BarraShopping, one of the largest retail and dining destinations in South America. https://fogodechao.com/newsroom

DALLAS, Oct. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fogo de Chão, the internationally renowned restaurant from Brazil that allows guests to make discoveries at every turn, today announced plans to bring its award-winning dining experience to Costa Rica and El Salvador for the first time. Through the franchise development agreement, Arguedas Group, an experienced owner and operator of international restaurant brands in Central America, will open four Fogo locations in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The announcement continues Fogo’s global expansion momentum, following its recently announced plans to enter Asia and Canada and domestic openings in the U.S. The Arguedas Group joins Fogo’s existing international franchise partners in Mexico, the Middle East, the Philippines and Canada.

Fogo Fort Lauderdale

In August 2022 Fogo opened its newest South Florida restaurant in Fort Lauderdale on Las Olas Blvd. https://fogodechao.com/newsroom

With 68 locations worldwide and growing, earlier in 2022 Fogo announced a 15 percent planned annual growth rate through company-owned restaurants, with an additional international capital light franchise development strategy. With the goal to bring the culinary art of churrasco to guests worldwide, the Company has 8-10 company-owned and 1-2 international franchise restaurant openings planned for 2022, supported by a strong pipeline of new restaurant development to meet demand in new and existing markets. Fogo’s newest openings include restaurants in El Segundo, Calif., Coral Gables, Fla., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Pasadena, Calif., Friendswood, Texas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Monterrey, Mexico, with planned openings in Queens, N.Y., Reston, Va., and others expected later this year.

“We are thrilled to partner with Jozsef Arguedas, CEO and Founder, and his accomplished team at Arguedas Group, whom we recognize for their impressive growth and success developing reputable, global restaurant brands in both Central and South America,” said Barry McGowan, Chief Executive Officer of Fogo de Chão. “We look forward to working together to bring the one-of-a-kind Fogo experience to Costa Rica and El Salvador guests for the first time as we continue to scale our brand globally.”

The Arguedas Group is a leading owner and operator of multi-unit restaurant brands in Costa Rica and El Salvador. With a current total footprint of more than 99 locations, Arguedas Group’s impressive portfolio includes iconic global brands such as Burger King, Domino’s and Arby’s.

Fogo Coral Gables

Guests can enjoy new brand extensions such as the Next Level Lounge and The Butchery in the recently opened Coral Gables, Fla. location. https://fogodechao.com/newsroom

“We are honored to be partnering with Fogo de Chão to bring their distinctive menu and innovative dining experience to Costa Rica and El Salvador,” said Jozsef Arguedas, CEO and Founder of the Arguedas Group. “As a longtime fan and guest of Fogo locations around the world myself, I believe Fogo will be a unique addition to the local dining scene in Central America and look forward to introducing new guests to the culinary art of churrasco.”

Founded in Southern Brazil in 1979, Fogo de Chão is a nearly 45-year-old brand known for its dining experience of discovery and showcasing the culinary art of churrasco where guests can watch as gaucho chefs butcher, hand-carve and grill high-quality cuts of protein over an open flame. With a modern, timeless design and signature offerings including a fresh and seasonal Market Table and an award-winning Bar Fogo menu featuring hand-crafted cocktails and South American wines, Fogo has become a destination of choice by both brand advocates and new guests globally.

For more information about Fogo de Chão, visit fogo.com. To learn more about global franchising opportunities, visit fogo.com/global-development/.

Fogo Friendswood

Fogo de Chão recently opened the doors to its newest location at the Baybrook Mall in Friendswood, Texas, one of the largest retail and dining destinations south of Houston. https://fogodechao.com/newsroom

About Fogo de Chão
Fogo de Chão (fogo-dee-shown) is an internationally renowned restaurant that allows guests to discover what’s next at every turn. Founded in Southern Brazil in 1979, Fogo elevates the centuries-old cooking technique of churrasco – the art of roasting high-quality cuts of meat over an open flame – into a cultural dining experience of discovery. In addition to its Market Table and Feijoada Bar – which includes seasonal salads and soup, fresh vegetables, imported charcuterie and more – guests are served simply-seasoned meats that are butchered, fire-roasted and carved tableside by gaucho chefs. Guests can also indulge in dry-aged or premium Wagyu cuts, seafood a la carte, All-Day Happy Hour including signature cocktails, and an award-winning South American wine list, as well as smaller, sharable plates in Bar Fogo. Fogo offers differentiated menus for all dayparts including lunch, dinner, weekend brunch and group dining, plus full-service catering and contactless takeout and delivery options. For locations and more information about Fogo de Chão, visit fogo.com.

Media Contact:
FogoPR@icrinc.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/76b0c400-dfaa-4ad8-a0b3-15dad320fbd1

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Flowbird Group and NYCDOT Launch New and Improved ParkNYC Mobile Parking App

New App to Service Nearly 2 Million NYC Users

Flowbird and NYCDOT Launch ParkNYC

 

Flowbird and NYCDOT Launch ParkNYC

MOORESTOWN-LENOLA, N.J., Oct. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Flowbird Group, the leader in curbside management and urban mobility solutions, launched the ParkNYC app in New York City on Oct. 17, 2022. The release of the mobile parking app allows motorists to conveniently pay for on-street parking and municipal parking lots using a mobile device. The ParkNYC app positions Flowbird at the heart of the country’s most competitive parking markets.

NYCDOT is proud to bring an improved parking experience to New York City motorists. Many busy New Yorkers rely on parking across the city, and the new app makes the payment process more convenient and less time-consuming,” said Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

The new ParkNYC app, implemented by New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and operated by Flowbird, extends service to the tens of thousands of parking locations across the five boroughs. Established ParkNYC users’ wallet credits will carry over to the new Flowbird app, providing a seamless transition to the new and improved application. Setting up a new account is quick and simple after the app is downloaded to a mobile device from the App Store or Google Play Store. Accounts can be set up for individual motorists or for businesses to manage their fleets.

The new ParkNYC app in New York City includes a modern and user-friendly interface, featuring the ability to pay as you go for a parking session and the continued ability to pre-load a ParkNYC wallet. Users can check how much time is remaining, choose to receive push notifications when time is about to expire, and extend their time to the maximum limit without returning to their vehicle. All transactions and receipts are saved in the user’s account on the app to be viewed later if needed.

Flowbird partnered with NYCDOT to design a brand new end-user portal for ParkNYC and to ensure a successful transition to the new app. Flowbird’s elite back-office management suite provides immediate in-depth reporting of all meter and mobile transactions, making it easier than ever to manage the parking system in real time, while making data-driven decisions for the future.

“We are thrilled to expand our long-term partnership with NYCDOT and be part of such a world-class operation to provide better parking solutions for its residents, visitors, and professionals, focusing on user experience and leveraging our global expertise in mobile technology,” said Benoit Reliquet, President, Flowbird America. “After Paris, Stockholm and Hong Kong, we are delighted to contribute to one of the world’s largest and most vibrant urban tech ecosystems in the City that never sleeps. A special thanks go out to all teams involved.”

Flowbird has been a longstanding partner with NYCDOT since 1993 when the City was one of the first in the United States to implement on-street multi-space parking pay stations. Since then, the City has expanded their contract with Flowbird to include nearly 14,000 solar-powered pay stations, managing 80,000 on-street parking spaces.

New York City joins the thousands of other towns and cities across the United States, and globally, using the Flowbird app. Flowbird’s continued growth reflects the success in providing simple and convenient solutions for parking and mobility. For more information, please visit www.ParkNYC.org.

About Flowbird

FLOWBIRD operates in 4,350 towns and cities in 80 countries. The company is constantly innovating and breaking new ground to help provide solutions. Its mission is to facilitate the individual journey and maximize a city’s unique mobility potential, while considering all city stakeholders and end-user experiences. Through its devices, elite service platform and teams, Flowbird enables a new era for maximizing urban harmony and value throughout the city’s core.

Contact Information:
Julianne Wilhelm
VP of Marketing, U.S.
julianne.wilhelm@flowbird.group
7272600648

Related Files

10.19.22 ParkNYC Flowbird Release.docx

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Image 1: Flowbird and NYCDOT Launch ParkNYC

Flowbird and NYCDOT Launch ParkNYC

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2022 Corporate Calendar – Update Iveco Group N.V. to present its 2022 Third Quarter Results on 9th November 20

Turin, 19th October 2022. Iveco Group N.V. (MI: IVG) announces that its financial results for the Third Quarter of 2022 will be presented on Wednesday, 9th November 2022.

The press release, presentation and other earnings’ supporting documents are expected to be posted on the corporate website at Financials | Iveco Group in the morning. A live audio webcast of the 2022 Third Quarter results conference call will take place later the same day at 6:00pm CET / 5:00pm GMT.

Details for accessing the webcast presentation are available at the following address:
Q3 2022 IVECO GROUP webcast

For those unable to take part in the live session, a replay will be available in the Investors section of the company website (www.ivecogroup.com) following the conference call.

Iveco Group N.V. (MI: IVG) is the home of unique people and brands that power your business and mission to advance a more sustainable society. The eight brands are each a major force in its specific business: IVECO, a pioneering commercial vehicles brand that designs, manufactures, and markets heavy, medium, and light-duty trucks; FPT Industrial, a global leader in a vast array of advanced powertrain technologies in the agriculture, construction, marine, power generation, and commercial vehicles sectors; IVECO BUS and HEULIEZ, mass-transit and premium bus and coach brands; IDV, for highly-specialised defence and civil protection equipment; ASTRA, a leader in large-scale heavy-duty quarry and construction vehicles; MAGIRUS, the industry-reputed firefighting vehicle and equipment manufacturer; and IVECO CAPITAL, the financing arm which supports them all. Iveco Group employs approximately 34,000 people around the world and has 28 manufacturing plants and 29 R&D centres. Further information is available on the Company’s website www.ivecogroup.com

Media Contacts:
Francesco Polsinelli, Tel: +39 335 1776091
Fabio Lepore, Tel: +39 335 7469007
E-mail: mediarelations@ivecogroup.com

Investor Relations:
Federico Donati, Tel: +39 011 0073539
E-mail: investor.relations@ivecogroup.com

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Quantexa Has Been Positioned by Chartis as a Category Leader in the KYC Solutions 2022 Market Quadrant Update and Vendor Landscape

Quantexa’s KYC Solution, part of its industry leading Decision Intelligence Platform, recognized for completeness of offering, risk scoring, customer profile enrichment, and customer onboarding

LONDON, Oct. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today Quantexa, a global data and analytics software company pioneering Contextual Decision Intelligence (CDI) and helping the world’s leading organizations and government agencies solve some of their toughest data challenges, announced that they have been recognized as a category leader in the just released 2022 Chartis KYC Solutions Market Update and Vendor Landscape report. Quantexa is being recognized as a category leader for completeness of their enterprise solution as well as market potential. The Quantexa KYC Solution was rated “best in class” for KYC risk scoring and customer profile enrichment with additional data and received an advanced ranking for customer onboarding and reporting, and dashboarding.

The Chartis KYC report is focused on the macro themes of cost saving and efficiency. Currently, KYC processes can be manual, error-prone and result in a poor experience throughout the customer lifecycle. Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform transforms the approach to KYC by adding context and clarity from onboarding to exit, dynamically monitoring, and assessing customer risk and opportunity, and shifting away from manual periodic reviews to an automated, proactive process.

The platform connects internal and external data to create a single, enriched, holistic view of a customer and its control, and uncovers hidden connections between customers, counterparties and their behaviors which are often impossible to see in isolation. Along with automation and the use of AI to achieve efficiencies, the solution facilitates a continuous and informed understanding of customers for better, faster decision making throughout the customer acceptance, identification, activity monitoring, and risk management processes.

Quantexa’s positioning in the report is reflective of their customers’ proven results and is proof that adopting a contextual and perpetual approach to KYC reduces the time and costs involved for businesses. It also transforms what has become a tick-the-box exercise, back into the true purpose of understanding the risk and exposure brought on by customer activity. By increasing automation and using decision intelligence, businesses stay ahead of the volume and velocity of data related to KYC policies and processes and can free up their teams, so they have more time to concentrate on high-risk customers and value-add tasks.

Quote: Phillip Mackenzie, Senior Research Specialist, Chartis
The Chartis RiskTech Quadrant for KYC does not simply describe one technology solution as the best – rather, we use the most sophisticated ranking methodology to explain which solution would be most suitable for buyers, depending on their implementation strategies. Our research finds that Quantexa’s KYC Solution offers businesses the necessary controls to address the risks involved in using AI in their compliance programs.”

Quote: Dan Higgins, Chief Product Officer, Quantexa

“Quantexa is thrilled to be included in the Chartis KYC Market Quadrant Report, positioned very strongly amongst an esteemed list of enterprise solution providers. Traditional ongoing due diligence and periodic refreshes of KYC continue to drive cost and complexity for businesses. The increasing regulatory, budget and customer pressures demand a new way of thinking. Quantexa’s contextual approach reduces the time and cost of KYC by increasing automation, connecting non-obvious relationships, and leveraging decision intelligence for perpetual monitoring of risk. This translates into more accurate risk identification and management, lower costs, and improved customer experience. We are confident that this approach will continue to provide value to our clients and drive overall market growth for Quantexa.”

ABOUT QUANTEXA
Quantexa is a global data and analytics software company pioneering Contextual Decision Intelligence that empowers organizations to make trusted operational decisions by making data meaningful. Using the latest advancements in big data and AI, Quantexa’s platform uncovers hidden risk and new opportunities by providing a contextual, connected view of internal and external data in a single place. It solves major challenges across data management, KYC, customer intelligence, financial crime, risk, fraud, and security, throughout the customer lifecycle.

The Quantexa Decision Intelligence Platform enhances operational performance with over 90% more accuracy and 60 times faster analytical model resolution than traditional approaches. Founded in 2016, Quantexa now has more than 500 employees and thousands of users working with billions of transactions and data points across the world. The company has offices in London, New York, Boston, Washington DC, Brussels, Toronto, Singapore, Melbourne, and Sydney. For more information, contact Quantexa here or follow us on LinkedIn.

ABOUT CHARTIS

Chartis is a research and advisory firm that provides technology and business advice to the global risk management industry. Chartis provides independent market intelligence regarding market dynamics, regulatory trends, technology trends, best practices, competitive landscapes, market sizes, expenditure priorities, and mergers and acquisitions. Chartis’ RiskTech Quadrant reports are written by experienced analysts with hands-on experience of selecting, developing and implementing risk management systems for a variety of international companies in a range of industries, including banking, insurance, capital markets, energy and the public sector.

A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at:

http://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/0b256614-6827-4dd7-b1fe-d9c1df5bb360

Media Inquiries:

C: Laurel Case, VP, Fight or Flight
T: +1 315 663 6780
E: Quantexa@fightflight.co.uk

C: Adam Jaffe, SVP of Corporate Marketing
T: +1 609 502 6889
E: adamjaffe@quantexa.com
– or –
RapidResponse@quantexa.com

Cellebrite Enhances Guardian with Faster, First-to-Market Evidence Review Capabilities

The enhanced Cellebrite investigative evidence management solution further accelerates time to evidence, reduces backlogs, and empowers agencies to utilize resources more efficiently

PETAH TIKVA, Israel and TYSONS CORNER, Va., Oct. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cellebrite DI Ltd. (Nasdaq: CLBT), a global leader in Digital Intelligence (DI) solutions for the public and private sectors, today announced the release of the next generation of Cellebrite Guardian, which provides quicker time to evidence (TTE) as it loads evidence within just seconds of receipt and further simplifies workflows to accelerate time to justice.

The latest enhancements create increased flexibility for law enforcement and help them secure privacy as they are able to harness the power of the solution to simplify and streamline end-to-end processes and key pain points in the investigative workflow, including physical duplication, transportation of evidence, and time-consuming evidence review.

We expect Cellebrite Guardian will accelerate TTE by more than 5 times compared to traditional methods1, enabling agencies to go from collection to collaboration in 2 hours (total time spent on case) compared to the current average TTE of 11 hours. Cellebrite Guardian also allows agencies to use their resources more efficiently.

Without the restraints of limited duration of storage and access to extractions, Cellebrite Guardian puts the customer at the center, allowing them to better address numerous evidence management challenges no matter how big the case or how long it takes.

Upper Allen Township Police Department Lieutenant Brian Barnes stated, “One person solving the case just isn’t the reality anymore. Modern investigations require team members from multiple disciplines, effectively collaborating, to bring justice to a victim. Often these cases involve digital evidence. Cellebrite Guardian is not only managing the critical relationship between investigator and examiner, but also ensuring that digital intelligence is immediately actionable regardless of hardware or skillset. Investigators reviewing phone extractions in a web browser, and quickly providing access to prosecutors via the cloud for instant review, forever changes the inefficient paradigm of yesterday.”

“The faster review capabilities for Cellebrite Guardian are critical for accelerating the time to justice in any investigation,” said Todd Bailey, Vice President and Head of Investigation and Evidence Management Solutions at Cellebrite. “Previously, Guardian had transformed hours of manual review processes into minutes. With our latest release, we have sped up those minutes into mere seconds. This speed, in combination with Guardian’s inbuilt flexibility, enables any agency to resolve cases faster.”

To learn more about Cellebrite Guardian, visit here.

About Cellebrite

Cellebrite’s (NASDAQ: CLBT) mission is to enable its customers to protect and save lives, accelerate justice, and preserve privacy in communities around the world. We are a global leader in Digital Intelligence solutions for the public and private sectors, empowering organizations in mastering the complexities of legally sanctioned digital investigations by streamlining intelligence processes. Trusted by thousands of leading agencies and companies worldwide, Cellebrite’s Digital Intelligence platform and solutions transform how customers collect, review, analyze and manage data in legally sanctioned investigations. To learn more visit us at www.cellebrite.com, https://investors.cellebrite.com, or follow us on Twitter at @Cellebrite.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This document includes “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “forecast,” “intend,” “seek,” “target,” “anticipate,” “will,” “appear,” “approximate,” “foresee,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “believe,” “could,” “predict,” “should,” “could,” “continue,” “expect,” “estimate,” “may,” “plan,” “outlook,” “future” and “project” and other similar expressions that predict, project or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Such forward looking statements include estimated financial information. Such forward looking statements with respect to revenues, earnings, performance, strategies, prospects, and other aspects of Cellebrite’s business are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: Cellebrite’s ability to keep pace with technological advances and evolving industry standards; Cellebrite’s material dependence on the acceptance of its solutions by law enforcement and government agencies; real or perceived errors, failures, defects or bugs in Cellebrite’s DI solutions; Cellebrite’s failure to maintain the productivity of sales and marketing personnel, including relating to hiring, integrating and retaining personnel; uncertainties regarding the impact of macroeconomic and/or global conditions, including COVID-19 and military actions involving Russia and Ukraine; intense competition in all of Cellebrite’s markets; the inadvertent or deliberate misuse of Cellebrite’s solutions; political and reputational factors related to Cellebrite’s business or operations; risks relating to estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth; Cellebrite’s ability to properly manage its growth; risks associated with Cellebrite’s credit facilities and liquidity; Cellebrite’s reliance on third-party suppliers for certain components, products, or services; challenges associated with large transactions and long sales cycle; risks that Cellebrite’s customers may fail to honor contractual or payment obligations; risks associated with a significant amount of Cellebrite’s business coming from government customers around the world; risks related to Cellebrite’s intellectual property; security vulnerabilities or defects, including cyber-attacks, information technology system breaches, failures or disruptions; the mishandling or perceived mishandling of sensitive or confidential information; the complex and changing regulatory environments relating to Cellebrite’s operations and solutions; the regulatory constraints to which we are subject; risks associated with different corporate governance requirements applicable to Israeli companies and risks associated with being a foreign private issuer and an emerging growth company; market volatility in the price of Cellebrite’s shares; changing tax laws and regulations; risks associated with joint, ventures, partnerships and strategic initiatives; risks associated with Cellebrite’s significant international operations; risks associated with Cellebrite’s failure to comply with anti-corruption, trade compliance, anti-money-laundering and economic sanctions laws and regulations; risks relating to the adequacy of Cellebrite’s existing systems, processes, policies, procedures, internal controls and personnel for Cellebrite’s current and future operations and reporting needs; and other factors, risks and uncertainties set forth in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Cellebrite’s annual report on form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 29, 2022 and in other documents filed by Cellebrite with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available free of charge at www.sec.gov. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, in this communication or elsewhere. Cellebrite undertakes no obligation to update its forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

Cellebrite Media 
Victor Cooper
Public Relations and Corporate Communications Director
Victor.Cooper@cellebrite.com
+1 404.804.5910

Investors
Investor Relations
investors@cellebrite.com

1 Research findings 2022, Cellebrite in co-operation with anonymous mid-sized US agency

COST OF LIVING/U.S. dollar jumps to almost 6-year high against Taiwan currency

The U.S. dollar continued to rise Wednesday, closing at its highest level in almost six years against the Taiwan dollar, amid a general weakness of regional currencies, dealers said.

 

The greenback opened at NT$31.990 and fluctuated between NT$31.983 and NT$32.039, before closing NT$0.028 higher at NT$32.022.

 

It was the U.S. currency’s highest closing level against the Taiwan dollar since Jan. 9, 2017, when it hit NT$32.106.

 

Dealers said the U.S. dollar got a boost from the weakness of most Asian currencies, including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan.

 

Market confidence in the regional currencies weakened amid worry over the global economy, due to escalating geopolitical tensions driven by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats of nuclear warfare against Ukraine, dealers said.

 

The U.S. dollar also benefited from a drop of the local stock market Wednesday, when the Taiex, the benchmark weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, fell 1.13 percent to close at the day’s low of 12,976.76 points, dealers said.

 

The Taiex again failed to hold above 13,000 points, after foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$12.13 billion worth of shares on the main board Wednesday.

 

Dealers said the greenback is expected to continue to rise against the Taiwan dollar, as the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its aggressive monetary policy to fight inflation.

 

Against that backdrop, foreign institutional investors can be expected to keep moving their funds out of Taiwan and into U.S. dollar denominated assets, dealers said.

 

Since March, the Fed has raised its key interest rates by 300 basis points, and it expected to hike them by another 75 basis points in November, given that the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) remained high in September at 8.2 percent, well above the 2 percent alert set by the American central bank.

 

 

 

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

187 trapped guests evacuated from Yilan mountain villa

Police and firefighters evacuated 187 guests down from a mountain holiday villa in eastern Yilan County on Wednesday, where they had been trapped since Sunday due to road damage and landslides from recent heavy rain.

 

Local authorities initially said they planned to evacuate 175 trapped guests on Wednesday from Mingchi Villa located in Yilan’s Makauy Ecological Park.

 

According to the Taoyuan City Government, at 1:36 p.m. on Wednesday, 122 of the guests were escorted off of the Yilan villa through a route towards Taoyuan.

 

A second group of guests were then led off the mountain using the same route at 3:30 p.m.

 

According to the Taoyuan government, there are still people in the villa, consisting of mostly employed staff, who would get off the mountain by themselves later.

The occupants of the villa were trapped in the mountain for the last four days due to recent heavy rains causing landslides and damages to sections of major highways in Taiwan, one of which was the main route towards the recreational park from Yilan.

 

According to the Directorate General of Highways, the 49.8-kilometer and 84.1-km sections on Provincial Highway No. 7 had been cleared as of Wednesday, while a single lane had also been cleared between the 0-0.5 km sections on the same highway.

 

However, the directorate general added that seven sections of the Northern Cross-Island Highway and a section of the Central Cross-Island Highway remained closed for repairs.

 

The directorate general elaborated that landslide debris still needed to be cleared on the 49.7-km section on Provincial Highway No. 7, and on the 68.4-km as well as the 68.5-km sections of the highway.

 

Since landslides are more severe on the highway’s 86.4-km to 86.6-km sections, the area will likely remain closed until Oct. 22. As the foundations were washed away on the highway’s 74-km, 81.6-km, and 83-km sections, the estimated date when repairs will be completed is Oct. 31.

In central Taiwan, since the foundations between the 114.6-km to 120.6-km sections on Provincial Highway No. 8 had been washed away, the directorate general estimated that repairs would not be completed until around Nov. 7.

 

 

 

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

200 offshore wind turbines to be built in Taiwan in 2022: President Tsai

The number of offshore wind turbines installed in Taiwan’s territorial waters in 2022 is expected to reach 200, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Wednesday at the opening of a renewable energy trade show in Taipei.

 

The offshore wind power industry is rapidly growing in the waters off western Taiwan, where developers are working to speed up the construction of four new wind farms, Tsai said at 2022 Energy Taiwan.

 

According to the Bureau of Energy, the four wind farms are Greater Changhua, Changfang (phase 1), Formosa II, and OWF Yunlin offshore wind farms.

 

Based on the current timetable, the number of offshore turbines built in the country throughout 2022 is expected to reach 200, Tsai said, adding that she looks forward to seeing them enter service and generate electricity in the near future.

 

Tsai said energy transition has been a priority for her administration since taking office in 2016 and over the past six years the government has “established a solid foundation” for the development of renewable energy.

 

In addition to the progress in offshore wind power, Taiwan currently has solar power generation capacity of 9.06 gigawatts (GW), a sevenfold increase on 2016, Tsai added.

 

Tsai went on to say that the government has also spared no effort in promoting the development of energy storage systems in Taiwan in the hope of reaching 1.5 GW storage capacity by 2025.

 

Meanwhile, James Huang (黃志芳), chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), said at the opening that while energy transition is far from easy it provides excellent opportunities for increased investment and industrial growth.

 

Huang expressed hope that the renewable energy trade show, which is being held in Taipei from Oct. 19-21, will pave the way for more international cooperation and exchanges.

 

The three-day trade show features 240 company exhibitors from 12 countries, according to TAITRA, which co-organized the event with the international industry association, SEMI.

 

 

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel