The legislatiure’s Transportation Committee yesterday criticized Taoyuan International Airport (TIA) Corp, as the lawmakers accused the company of inflating the budget for the airport’s restroom renovation project.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) questioned the company’s plan to spend NT$300 million (NT$10 million) to remodel the restrooms at the airport. She said TIA claimed that the construction cost for 1 ping (3.30m2) would be NT$72,000.
Yeh said Zihnan Temple (紫南宮) in Nantou County spent NT$33 million to build its restrooms.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“The restrooms are equipped with deodorizing equipment, nurseries and facilities for disabled passengers. Some called it a seven-star bathroom,” Yeh said. “Each ping only cost NT$20,000.”
Following Yeh’s criticism, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) questioned TIA’s ability to execute projects as the company said they would spend three years completing the renovation project. He asked TIA to consider shortening the time to one-and-a-half years.
In response, TIA president Samuel Lin (林鵬良) said the government had amended regulations governing the ratio of men’s to women’s facilities. The airport, which has been in operation for more than 20 years, needs to follow the new regulations.
To renovate the restrooms, Lin said workers need to change the pipelines, relocate some of the stores and redo the interior design. When deducting the costs for relocation, the actual construction cost for 1 ping was NT$31,600, he said.
Aside from the questions on the renovation, KMT Legislator Chen Ken-de (陳根德) said the airport company will submit a comprehensive financial report detailing how it planned to raise the capital.
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