The long-stalled construction project for the Taipei Dome yesterday passed Taipei City’s urban design review amid protests over the project’s possible impact on local traffic and overall environment.
The proposed site of the complex, which includes a 40,000-seat indoor stadium with surrounding shopping and residential districts, is located at the corner of Zhongxiao E and Guangfu S roads. Construction is scheduled to start in July if it passes the environmental impact assessment early next year.
The Urban Design Review Committee’s decision to approve the project was met with strong protests from a group of environmentalists and local residents who rushed into the closed-door meeting and clashed with police.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TAIPEI CITY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF URBAN
“Several hundred old trees at the historic Songshan Tobacco Factory were removed because of the project and local residents have lost a place to exercise and relax,” said Yu Yi (游藝), a member of a civic group that calls for the preservation of the factory site. “The city government is profiting enterprises by approving the project.”
Calls by protesters on the city government to reject the project and annul the build-operate-transfer contract with the Farglory Group failed to prevent the review committee from approving the project, which was originally scheduled for completion this year.
Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), who attended the committee meeting, rejected the protesters’ claim that the building would have a negative impact on the environment, adding that the complex would not pose a serious threat to the environment as it has gone through “the strictest reviews.”
Ting Yu-chun (丁育群), commissioner of the city’s Urban -Development Department and review committee chairman, said that even if the project were approved, the Farglory Group would still be required to submit a report on traffic control measures.
The group signed the contract with the city government in 2006 and plans to invest more than NT$23 billion (US$700 million) in the complex.
Since then, ongoing protests from environmentalists and local residents have stalled the review process and the group subsequently agreed to reduce the size of the complex from 590,000m2 to 555,000m2.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday the project had followed all necessary administrative processes over the years and that the city’s review committee had approved it through a fair and transparent mechanism.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS