Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors slammed the Taipei City Government yesterday over delays in public construction projects, saying that more than 60 percent of major construction projects in the city were facing delays, which was affecting the city's competitiveness and causing financial losses.
Ninety out of 147 major municipal construction projects in Taipei City costing a total of more than NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) were at least six months behind schedule and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) had failed to look for solutions, DPP Taipei City Councilor Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) said.
“The city government’s poor efficiency is making it impossible for people to believe the projects will be completed on time,” Wu said yesterday at the Taipei City Council.
PHOTO: CNA
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chou Wei-yo (周威佑) said tha t many construction projects, including the mass rapid transit (MRT) system’s Xinzhuang and Xinyi lines, the Shanzhuku (山豬窟) landfill in Nangang District and the cleaning of the Neihu dumping site had all been delayed without new deadlines being announced.
Chou said the city’s Environmental Protection Department, Land Department, Transportation Department and Public Works Department were the main culprits.
About 74 percent of construction work on the city’s drainage system had been put off by the Public Works Department, he said.
“Most projects concern people’s lives and the city government should not ignore the needs of residents and neglect its duties,” Chou said.
In response, Liu Kuo-ming (劉國銘), chief secretary of the Public Works Department, said that weather conditions, increases in the price of raw materials and other factors had contributed to the delays.
Lu Shih-chan (盧世昌), a division chief at the Environmental Protection Department, said that some of the projects, including the Shanzhuku landfill, were delayed because of reviews by the city council.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS