Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday continued to challenge the budget plan for the Xinsheng Overpass reconstruction project, accusing the Taipei City Government of paying more than two to three times the market price for pitch.
Taipei City’s New Construction Department paid NT$5,877 for every cubic meter of pitch concrete, which is more than two times higher than the price the department paid for pitch concrete in other construction projects.
The department also paid about two times the market price for the thermoplastic road line paint on the bridge, DPP Taipei City councilors Lee Wen-ying (李文英), Wang Xiao-wei (王孝維) and Chang Mao-nan (張茂楠) told a press conference at the Taipei City Council.
“All the materials used on the bridge project, from flowers and pitch to road line paints, are all overpriced. I think the New Construction Department should be called Overpriced Construction Department instead,” Wang said.
Lee blasted the city government for what she called the failure to admit serious negligence in overseeing the budget plan for the project despite DPP Taipei City caucus revelations of problematic flower prices last month, urging the prosecutors to check the project’s problems thoroughly.
The disputes surrounding the project began last month when Lee challenged the department over its use of overpriced flowers to decorate the bridge. The city government later acknowledged its administrative negligence when overseeing the budget listing procedure and sent the project to the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office for investigation.
In defense, Lee Wen-fang (李文芳), a division chief at the department, said there was a price hike for pitch between 2007 and 2008, so its unit price for the overpass project was much higher compared with its price in previous construction projects.
He added that the city government sent the whole project, including the purchase plans of the materials, to prosecutors for further investigation.
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