Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday criticized Taipei Dome contractor Farglory Group for “haggling” over the cost of the complex’s operations after a media report said the corporation is planning to abandon the beleaguered build-operate-transfer (BOT) project.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) yesterday reported that Farglory planned to abandon the project out of concerns over a new property tax and the rent it would be required to pay for the duration of the BOT contract once the Dome complex begins operations.
Farglory is waiting for the next opportunity to dissolve the BOT contract, the report said.
“Property and land taxes are levied nationwide. They are not directed at Farglory,” Ko said yesterday on the sidelines of a premiere of documentaries on Taipei’s agricultural sector.
“First, they nag every day saying they want to build [the Dome]. Then they complain about high land and property taxes after we ask them to apply for resumption of construction,” Ko said, describing Farglory’s alleged plan as an attempt at haggling.
According to the Liberty Times, Farglory would shoulder property and land taxes totaling more than NT$30 billion (US$939,202) over the contract’s life, making it impossible for the conglomerate to offset operating costs with the complex’s estimated revenue, the report said.
Due to land values calculated by the municipal government rising in recent years, the rent that the city government charges Farglory for the Dome site increased from NT$42.62 million between 2009 and 2012 to NT$67.06 million from 2013 to last year.
Even if land values determined by the city remained flat, Farglory would need to pay a rent totaling NT$4.63 billion over the contract’s life of 50 years, the report showed.
Under the contract, Farglory would be required to pay property taxes for five buildings in the complex for 40 years, which, calculated by the tax rates set forth in 2014 which the site would be subjected to, would add another NT$24.6 billion to Farglory’s operating costs, the report said.
Farglory spokesman Jacky Yang (楊舜欽) dismissed the report.
Farglory has always remained steadfast in its resolve to finish construction at the Dome site, and it would honor the agreement it reached with the city on Sept. 8 and strive for the construction to be resumed, Yang said.
He conceded that the corporation had not taken increases in rent and property prices into account when it submitted the tender for the project, saying that this could pose a great challenge to the complex’s operations.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
RSS