By SHO HATSUMI/ Staff Writer
December 26, 2019 at 15:10 JST
An artist’s rendering of the refurbished third floor of a service area in the Qingshui District (Provided by Central Nippon Expressway Co.)
Central Nippon Expressway Co. (NEXCO Central) on Dec. 25 announced that it will operate part of a roadside rest stop in Taiwan in an effort to draw more customers by offering Japanese food and souvenirs.
The Taiwan venture will make NEXCO the first domestic expressway operator to run a service area business overseas, the company said.
NEXCO will operate the third floor of a service area in the Qingshui District of Taichung, located in the west coast of the island.
The floor used to have a simple food court, but few customers dropped in.
The Taiwan operator of the Qingshui facility visited service areas in Japan and, impressed by what it saw, asked NEXCO Central to team up to run the facility.
The 1,500-square-meter space will reopen on Jan. 18 with outlets such as ramen and sushi restaurants and a souvenir shop that offers Japanese confectioneries and crafts.
Central Nippon Exis Co., a subsidiary of the expressway operator, set up a local affiliate in Taiwan for the project in October. Central Nippon Exis manages service areas within the jurisdiction of NEXCO Central.
The company aims to generate 500 million yen ($4.56 million) in annual sales from the operation of the floor of the service area.
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