Farglory Land Development Co’s Taipei Dome project must still pass the required environmental impact assessment (EIA) before it can resume construction, the Taipei City Government said yesterday.
News outlet Up Media on Monday evening reported that the city government and Farglory representatives had secretly discussed the project and reached a consensus between July and earlier this month.
The city would reportedly waive a required EIA procedure if Farglory agrees to submit its modified fire and safety assessment reports to the Taipei Department of Urban Development’s Urban Design and Land Use Development Permit Committee for review, Up Media said.
However, the city yesterday issued a press release denying the report.
“If Farglory Land Development Co wants to apply to resume the Taipei Dome project, it must meet the procedures required by EIA regulations, because the project’s modified plan is not the same as the original one that passed the EIA,” it said in the statement.
The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection said Farglory had applied in June to modify the plans of the complex’s vehicle and pedestrian circulation systems, parking spaces, the main body of the stadium and store layout.
According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Enforcement Rules (環評法施行細則), Farglory must submit an assessment of changes to the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee for review, the city said.
“We have always said it needs to pass the EIA,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday morning. “Everyone has their eyes wide open and is watching the case, so the city government will handle it with a just and fair attitude. It is impossible for us to make concessions.”
Farglory might have its own ideas, such as hoping to receive a waiver on an EIA review, but society is watching, so the city government must uphold the principles of openness and transparency, and the company should just meet the requirements and get it over with, the mayor said.
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