The government has approved a land development plan around a planned station along the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT line, an official at the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said Monday. The ministry will begin to invite bids from developers for the land adjacent to the line's Linkou stop in Taoyuan County in the third quarter of the year, revealed Hsieh Cheng-chang, chief of the Urban and Rural Planning Office in the MOI's Construction and Planning Agency. According to the agency, the development plan covers 226 hectares of land surrounding the A7 station of the MRT line that is now under construction. Under the plan, 66 hectares will be devoted to an industrial zone for green- energy and biotech companies. Another 15 hectares will be designated for the construction of inexpensive residential apartments, and the remaining space will be devoted to public facilities, including schools and roads, Hsieh said. The development plan is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2013 as part of the construction of the mass rapid transit line connecting Taipei City and the airport, which is set to begin commercial operations in 2014, Hsieh noted. The agency will publish the guidelines for the project's tender in the near future, he added. The construction of the new MRT line began in 2006. When completed, it will stretch 50.03 kilometers between Taipei City's main railway station and the international airport in Taoyuan. The project is being built at a cost of an estimated NT$113.85 billion (US$3.55 billion). 