Careless repair work by the Farglory Group (遠雄集團) led to concrete plaster leaking out of cracks in the Songshan Factory historic site, Taipei City Government said yesterday.
The Department of Cultural Affairs temporarily closed the site’s museum yesterday after a gray liquid began seeping from cracks on the concrete floor. The cracks appeared several months ago as a result of construction on the neighboring Taipei Dome, causing ground sinkage beneath the buildings.
In response to questioning by Taipei City Councilor Hsu Hung-ting (徐弘庭) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the city council, Department of Urban Development Commissioner Lin Jou-min (林洲民) said that the cracks were the result of “carelessness” on the part of the contractor.
He added that the overflow did not reflect any “immediate danger,” stating that the Songshan Factory site was located over one hundreds meters north of the Bannan (板南) MRT Line.
Damage to the Songshan Factory and abnormal readings along the Bannan Line have both been sources of contention between the city government and Farglory — the contractor to which the city outsourced the build-operate-transfer (BOT) project. The Department of Cultural Affairs had ordered Farglory to pour concrete plaster into the ground beneath the Songshan Factory to prevent further site sinkage.
Department of Rapid Transportation Systems Commissioner Chou Li-liang (周禮良) said that there was no connection between plaster overflow and last month’s temporary halt to dome construction. He added the overflow was probably caused by too much pressure being applied as the plaster was poured, causing it to flow up through cracks.
The Department of Cultural Affairs added that uneven soil texture could also have been the cause of the seepage.
Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Ni Chung-hwa (倪重華) said that Farglory would be required to exercise more care in pouring concrete in the future, adding that there was no need to fine the firm because there was no lasting damage.
Meanwhile, in response to the leakage, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said the amount of concrete poured into the factory’s smoke stack was enough to turn it into a “golden-banded staff,” a reference to Monkey King’s (孫悟空) weapon of choice in the Chinese-language classic novel Journey to the West.
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