New Taipei City said it will advance the shortfall from its own resources after the central government cut more than NT$5.4 billion in subsidies for its metro projects, the Liberty Times reported.

City officials said the move will not delay construction. Because the burden falls first on local finances, however, some note it could affect budget allocation for other projects.

Metro construction in Taiwan has proceeded with central and local government sharing project costs. Disagreement over the split and the timing of disbursement has recurred in the past.

New Taipei, with more than four million residents, is Taiwan's largest local authority and has several metro lines under construction at once. The scale of spending makes fiscal allocation correspondingly sensitive.

The overall fiscal position of the central government and a reordering of project priorities are cited as background to the cut. Specific reasons are expected to be clarified during budget review.

For users, the point to check is whether opening dates shift. City officials say that as long as construction progress holds, a change in how the work is financed leaves the timetable unaffected.