TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics warned Thursday that delays in passing this year’s central government budget could shave economic growth.

DGBAS Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) said the government projects GDP growth of 3.54% this year, per CNA. If the budget is not approved, growth would dip modestly, she said, though the broader economic trend would remain upward.

Chen made the comments after a Cabinet meeting, as lawmakers questioned whether a stalled budget could disrupt major policy initiatives. The budget has yet to be sent to legislative committees for review.

National Development Council Chair Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) said delays would directly affect NT$10.2 billion in funding under the government’s 10 Major AI Infrastructure Projects, per Liberty Times. He said this includes spending on unmanned vehicle development, robotics, and quantum computing initiatives.

Yeh warned that a prolonged budget freeze would slow the adoption of artificial intelligence across industry and public services. He said key technologies such as robotics, silicon photonics, and quantum computing could face deployment delays.

Chen said nearly NT$300 billion (US$9.51 billion) in spending would be affected if the budget is not passed. She explained that every NT$10 billion cut from investment-related spending would shave about 0.05 percentage points off growth.

At that scale, Chen said, the cumulative impact would be enough to drag growth below current forecasts. She again called on legislators to move quickly, saying budget approval is critical to sustaining economic momentum.