The Taipei City Government and Farglory Group (遠雄集團) have arrived at a consensus to dissolve the contract for the Taipei Dome build-operate-transfer project, Taipei Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基) said yesterday.
Teng, who leads the city government’s negotiations with Farglory on the Dome project, told reporters that the two parties reached an agreement at a closed-door meeting on Wednesday night.
Also at the meeting were Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), Taipei Mayor’s Office Director Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) and Taipei Department of Legal Affairs Commissioner Yang Fang-ling (楊芳玲).
Photo: CNA
Teng said that the city government would not take advantage of Farglory and would compensate the group after verifying its expenditure on the project.
He said that given the high level of technicality involved in terminating the contract, both sides agreed to appoint a lawyer to handle the issue.
Asked whether the city would seek a third party to take over the project, Teng said it was a possibility, but that it was premature to talk about this matter.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Teng said that he personally welcomes any party to take over the Dome project, as long as it is conducted in an open and transparent manner.
He added that if another company takes on the project and construction is resumed, it should ensure that the city’s safety standards would not be compromised.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that dissolving the contract would be an easier way to resolve the Dome debacle.
He added that while the tone for the contract’s dissolution had been set, the city government remains “open-minded” to all possibilities.
Asked if the city could afford the potential compensation, which Farglory has said would amount to NT$37 billion (US$1.14 billion), including construction fees, salaries and the losses it suffered from the construction’s suspension, Ko said that the actual amount of compensation would be ascertained after a review of the city’s accounts and Farglory’s accounting vouchers.
“This will take some time. Just wait and see,” Ko said.
Later in the day, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Tai Shi-chin (戴錫欽), during a question-and-answer session with Yang at the Taipei City Council, said that Teng had personally told him that the Taipei City Government “does not intend to spend a cent” on dissolving the contract.
Tai said the city’s attitude on the Dome suggests that demolishing it is no longer an option, and that the only option left is to ask a third party to take over the project and the costs.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新) asked Yang about allegations that high-ranking city officials held talks with corporations to attract potential buyers, despite the contract with Farglory still being valid. He questioned whether such talks are legitimate and said Yang should launch an investigation to identify the officials.
Yang said that initiating talks with private firms when the contract is still valid is illegal, but that she did not know of any officials that are involved in the alleged talks.
Asked to comment on the allegations, Teng said he had not contacted any third parties, but that he could not guarantee that other officials had not.
He said that “not spending a cent” is a principle the city government would abide by in resolving the beleaguered project, hinting at the city’s stance on inviting an interested third party to take over.
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