Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would not be pressured to make concessions and let the Taipei Dome construction project pass a review just because elections are scheduled at the end of the year as contractor Farglory Group on Friday suddenly withdrew its documents from review.
The Taipei City Government in May 2015 ordered Farglory to halt construction, citing safety concerns and unauthorized changes to the blueprints.
Before construction is resumed, the modified plans must pass safety reviews by the Taiwan Architecture and Building Center and the Taipei Urban Design Review Committee, undergo an environmental impact assessment and obtain a building permit for the modified design.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
An urban design review meeting was to be held on April 3, but the Taipei Department of Urban Development on Friday said that Farglory had in the afternoon asked to withdraw its documents.
Farglory withdrew its plans after the department on March 9 requested a redesign to address a number of safety issues and meet building regulations, Farglory Group spokesman Jacky Yang (楊舜欽) said, adding that the company considers the request equivalent to questioning the legitimacy of the building permit it gained in 2011 and the committee is not authorized to review its legitimacy.
Calling Farglory’s withdrawal “a waste of administrative resources,” Taipei Department of Urban Development Commissioner Lin Jou-min (林洲民) said the committee is authorized to review comprehensive urban disaster prevention measures, but would not review building permits or regulations, which the company might have understood.
He urged Farglory to resubmit its modified plans for review as soon as possible.
“We will not give it [Farglory] a hard time, but we cannot make concessions to let it pass easily,” Ko said.
“It is impossible for us to issue a permit as long as the project has not passed a review,” Ko said, adding that even if the company used stalling tactics, he would not feel pressured to let it pass in the face of the Nov. 24 elections.
“Stalling is useless, I will do what I must,” Ko said, adding that he would ask Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) to approach Farglory and discuss its plans.
In related news, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智), who has announced his bid to run for Taipei mayor, yesterday called on Taipei residents to join him in a protest march on April 22 against the lack of progress on the Taipei Dome construction project and to demand that Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) be converted into a park.
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