Print

Mail

wiki links

Ma grilled over MRT suit

Taipei City councilors slammed the city government's loss in a legal battle with French firm Matra over the MRT's Mucha line yesterday, saying that Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had wasted millions of dollars on that case and others involving the MRT.

Asked by the city council for an explanation, Ma yesterday gave a report on the dispute between the Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) and Matra.

After a 12-year battle stemming from the troubled first line of Taipei's MRT network, the Supreme Court in July ordered DORTS to pay the French firm NT$1.6 billion (US$48 million) for construction delays on the MRT's Muzha line. Although dissatisfied with the ruling, Ma agreed to pay the fine.

City councilors yesterday said Ma and DORTS officials had wasted money on the Matra case and legal disputes with other companies.

"DORTS has lost about NT$6 billion on lawsuits over the years ... the reasons for the legal disputes include changes to the construction design and infrastructure delays caused by the department," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Councilor Lee Chian-chang (李建昌) said yesterday during a question-and-answer session at the city council.

Echoing Lee's comment, DPP Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said that since the department was established in 1987, contractors have filed 150 lawsuits against it. DORTS has lost 93 of those cases and has been ordered to pay fines.

DORTS Commissioner Chang Chi-te (常岐德) denied that the department had spent too much money on legal battles, saying that it has been fighting for the city government's rights.

"We had differing views on construction with some contractors, and we fought the legal battles in order to win back the rights of the city government," he said.

City councilors also questioned delays in several other construction projects.

DPP Councilor Lee Wen-yin (李文英) said that in addition to infrastructure delays, many construction projects, such as the reconstruction of markets, haven't even been started yet.

In addition, 38 construction projects have been delayed, Lee said.

"There are more than 400 construction sites in Taipei. Mayor Ma has only been to about 10 of them. I hope that our mayor can visit more construction sites and monitor the progress of these projects," DPP Councilor Lan Shih-tsung (藍世聰) said.

Ma said that between 2003 and August this year the city had 874 construction projects, costing more than NT$10 million, and that it has finished 534 projects so far. He said the 61 percent completion rate showed the city government's efforts, but agreed to visit more sites to monitor their progress.
This story has been viewed 2384 times.