The Taipei City Government will ask the central government to help pay for the removal of a huge garbage mountain that is obstructing the flow of the Keelung River.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"The central government has helped Taipei County pay for the removal of several large garbage heaps along the Keelung river," he said.
"It should do the same for Taipei City."
The central government had given Taipei County about NT$2.7 billion to be used for garbage removal projects by the end of 1998, Ma said.
The 53m-high garbage mountain in Neihu covers 14.3 hectares and extends about one-third of the way across the 155m-wide river.
The site was mainly used between 1968 and 1985.
In 1998, the Ministry of Economic Affairs asked Taipei's municipal government to remove the trash pile as soon as possible for fear that it could cause flooding, especially during the typhoon season.
Then-mayor Chen Shui-bian (
Although the study concluded that the heap could cause the river to rise only 6cm during rainy seasons, the ministry insisted on its immediate removal.
The city has earmarked NT$60 million next year to hire a consultancy to draw up a removal plan, but the removal might cost as much as NT$4 billion.
"We're thinking of separating the garbage, burning the combustibles and recycling the recyclables, and then make use of the fertile soil," said Stephen Shen (沈世宏), director of the environmental protection bureau.
* The garbage pile in question is 53m-high, covers 14.3 hectares and extends one-third of the way across the 155m wide Keelung river.
* The city estimates that the mound's removal could cost as much as NT$4 billion.
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