Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) brushed off his and the city’s requests for details on Taipei Dome construction safety plans, providing only perfunctory answers, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Wednesday.
“From start to finish [Farglory] has been extremely arrogant,” Ko said, adding that the firm’s “shoot me” attitude was “unacceptable.”
The mayor said he was “anxious” about potential damage to the historic Songshan Tobacco Factory adjacent to the Dome site and that Farglory should act in a “responsible” manner.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
When the city asked Farglory to explain how it was trying to minimize potential damage to the Songshan site during construction of the Dome, the company submitted a 300-page report on how it would repair the Songshan site after the Dome was completed, making him wonder if the firm had even paid attention to the city’s questions, he said.
Farglory’s response was enough to “drive anyone bananas,” he said.
He also said he saw no contradiction between the city’s order that the company halt construction at the site and his previous comments that work should not be stopped before the Dome’s foundations were completed for safety reasons.
“I hope that you are able to finish the foundations as soon as possible, but you have to state clearly just what you plan to do, rather than ignoring me and working at your leisure,” the mayor said.
He also said that the firm had extended the target date for finishing the foundation work several times and it was not clear exactly what the final date would be.
Asked if the city would consider ending Farglory’s contract if the company refused to provide detailed safety plans, Ko said that he hoped the firm would not be so arrogant.
His greatest concern was the safety of city residents, he said.
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