Farglory Group yesterday said it delivered to the Taipei Department of Urban Development a list of items at the Taipei Dome that the firm believes need work.
Referencing points made in a ruling by the Taipei High Administrative Court last month allowing Farglory to address safety concerns at the Dome, the firm said in a statement that it would carry out work to resolve public safety issues, including increasing the Dome’s mass, extracting groundwater to reduce buoyancy and removing corrosion to prevent a possible collapse.
Farglory dismissed a city government claim that the firm had not informed authorities of the proposed resumption of work.
Farglory said that on Tuesday it had sent a document to the department outlining work it believes is necessary, adding that yesterday’s list was meant to explain points conveyed in the document.
The proposed work is to be carried out in several stages, with the first stage aimed at ameliorating damage caused by the suspension of operations, Farglory said.
It said the buoyancy caused by elevated groundwater levels is strongest near a half-finished shopping mall adjacent to the Dome, and that to cancel out the buoyancy, floorboards and compartmentalization at the Dome must be completed.
According to Farglory, groundwater levels are highest — at 2.77m below the surface — north of a half-finished hotel in the complex.
If this problem persists, groundwater levels will rise further during torrential rain, threatening the building’s integrity, it said.
The Dome’s bare roof has corroded since the construction was suspended in May last year and if this problem is not addressed, public safety would be jeopardized during typhoons, Farglory said.
Taipei Construction Management Office vice chief engineer Yu Chi-hsueh (虞積學) said that the list of work items would be reviewed at a meeting of city officials, architects and structural engineers on Tuesday to determine whether the proposals are in line with points presented in the court ruling.
He said that Farglory would need to propose a formal work plan for review before it could resume work.
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