Facing questions from the media and aviation experts, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) reiterated yesterday that easing restrictions on height limits of buildings located near Taipei's Songshan Airport will not create any concern for flight safety.
"The zone where the restrictions could be eased is south of the airport and is not the side from where the planes will approach and land," CAA Director-General Billy Chang (張國政) said. "So the policy change will not affect the operations of planes within this area."
Chang also said that the administration began to assess the possibility of easing the restrictions at the request of the Cabinet last year, adding that the CAA was required by the Government Procurement Act (
Chang said three consulting firms came in for the bid and Mott MacDonald Group from Britain was eventually selected.
Chang said that the evaluation only led to two proposals. He said the first proposal suggested that the height limit for buildings within 3km of the runway could be raised from 60m to 90m. The second proposal, however, advised that the height limits remain unchanged 2km from the runways. However, buildings constructed between 2km and 3km from the runways would be allowed to cap their heights at 110m.
Chang further said that both proposals had been presented to the Executive Yuan, which later decided to opt for the first proposal.
The first proposal, Chang said, was perceived to generate more benefits than the second one.
Chang also attempted to dismiss other concerns.
In response to claims that higher buildings would obstruct the operation of helicopters Chang said that helicopters are not allowed to fly at altitudes lower than 305m, meaning there was no problem.
Another concern was that the buildings may block the transmission of radio-waves, but Chang said this has not yet proven to be a problem.
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
RSS