KOROR, Palau - Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. announced that the nation will be getting its first golf course with help from Taiwanese investors.
Whipps said Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung will visit Palau soon with the group.
They plan to sign an agreement “to build a golf course around the Capitol that will be historic and something that would be beautiful, just making the Capitol even more beautiful with all that green and a first-class golf course, facing the ocean and going all around the Capitol.”
Because golf courses typically require heavy use of pesticides, herbicides and chemicals to maintain their appearance, they are often criticized for their impact on the environment.
Whipps said that in a nation known for its commitment to environmental preservation, this golf course will be different.
He said the group has built another eco-friendly golf course in the mountains of Taiwan.
“So I said, ‘Well, if you can do it here, let's do an eco-friendly golf course in Palau. That's what Palau is known for, and one of the concerns that people have is too much pesticides and all those things. So come and develop one that meets the standards with an eco-friendly approach.'”
Palau’s large National Capitol complex has separate buildings for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Located in Melekeok state on the island of Babeldaob, the Capitol was built with the help of grants and loans from Taiwan.
