Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday refused to confirm or deny rumors that seating in the Taipei Dome could be reduced due to safety concerns.
“The Taipei Dome is already half-completed — tailoring clothes when you are putting them on is difficult,” Ko said in response to reporters’ questions, adding that the city government still needed one or two weeks to consider how to evacuate the structure and deal with traffic in the event of an emergency.
Ko’s remarks followed a report in the latest edition of Chinese-language Next Magazine that said the city was considering reducing seating in the arena from 40,000 to between 20,000 and 30,000 due to safety concerns.
Taipei is holding new negotiations with Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) — which won the contract to build and manage the arena — following controversy over the contract terms negotiated under the previous administration.
On Tuesday, Ko said the city was considering requiring the firm to remove some of the planned office space in the venue to open up additional evacuation routes.
Ko yesterday refused to say whether the safety concerns were linked to negligence by previous city administrations, referring the matter to Taipei’s Clean Government Commission.
“What I care about right now is whether or not to construct [the Taipei Dome], and how to handle the aftermath if it is constructed,” Ko said.
He reiterated his concerns over whether the structure could be evacuated properly given congestion on surrounding roads, while acknowledging that any changes would require renegotiating Farglory’s contract to take into account the impact on the firm’s profits.
Taipei Dome Project executive secretary Hu Pei-lun (胡培倫) said that ending the contract might require the city to purchase the construction from Farglory, depending upon the specific circumstances and how legal responsibility is apportioned.
“Any changes to the design or seating capacity of the Taipei Dome would touch entrenched clauses in the contract,” Farglory public relations department deputy manager Jacky Yang (楊舜欽) said, while denying that the project failed to meet safety requirements.
He said the firm would respect the city’s position on project changes, but that contract revisions would be required to reflect any impact on the firm’s profits.
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