Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday ordered a nationwide inspection of bridges in the wake of Tuesday’s collapse of the Nanfangao Bridge in Yilan County’s Suao Township (蘇澳), but also said that the bridge would be rebuilt, as Nanfangao is a major fishing port and a tourist attraction.
Su also ordered the newly established Taiwan Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of the collapse and report on how improvements can be made to prevent similar incidents.
Inspection of bridges overseen by the Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) are to focus on those that are old or dilapidated, have been hit by landslides, are structurally unique, or located by ports or the seaside, leaving them prone to corrosion, Su said at a weekly Cabinet meeting.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
The Public Construction Commission is to create a list of all bridges not overseen by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), Su said.
The commission is also to ensure that any potentially dangerous bridges are identified and that the needed reinforcement work is conducted by the relevant agencies, the premier added.
Inspections of bridges overseen by TIPC are to be completed by the end of this year, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said.
Photo courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
There are more than 20,000 bridges nationwide that fall under the jurisdiction of local governments, and they are to undergo a thorough inspection, she said.
No matter how many administrations there have been over the 21 years since the Nanfangao Bridge was built, the current administration would not seek to evade responsibility over the incident, she added.
The design and tendering process for rebuilding the bridge is to be overseen by the Public Construction Commission, Su told the Cabinet.
Later in the day, Su was asked by reporters whether TIPC was simply a pork-barrel agency for Democratic Progressive Party, as the Nanfangao Bridge had not been inspected for 21 years, while TIPC’s three former chairmen during President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration had all served in the Kaoshiung City Government when Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) was mayor of Kaohsiung.
Once the investigation into the collapse is complete, anyone found to bear responsibility for the incident would be strictly punished, Su told reporters.
It would be appropriate for personnel that were negligent in maintaining the bridge to be subject to punishment, he said.
In other developments, military personnel yesterday morning cleared a path for about 500 fishing boats to enter and exit the fishing port amid the ongoing removal of the bridge wreckage, the premier announced.
If the work of fishing boats in the port or the operations of stores or businesses in the port area prove to be affected by the heavy vehicles being used to clear the debris, the transportation ministry would provide compensation after consulting Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tze-cheng (吳澤成), he added.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
RSS