The Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday reached a final verdict against Taipei Dome contractor Farglory Group, saying that an order by the Taipei City Government in 2015 to halt the construction of the Taipei Dome did not breach any laws.
The city government in May 2015 ordered Farglory to halt the construction in accordance with Article 58 of the Building Act (建築法), saying that the company made unauthorized changes to the approved blueprints, which might cause serious public safety problems.
Farglory filed an administrative lawsuit against the city government, asking that the administrative ordinance be revoked, but the Administrative Supreme Court said that the Taipei Department of Urban Development’s order did not breach any laws.
Photo: Chung Hung-liang, Taipei Times
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that “the result is as I expected, because it is certainly reasonable to halt its operation when it was not following the approved blueprint.”
The most important matter now is to resolve the problem, Ko said, suggesting two possible ways.
One is to build the Dome according to the approved blueprint, but that is not possible because some of the columns do not follow the blueprint, he said.
Farglory can only apply for a new construction permit and try to pass the required review, including a fire safety evacuation design, urban design and an environmental impact assessment, he said.
Ko said he has made it clear several times that the city would neither let Farglory pass the reviews easily nor make it difficult, so the company should follow the legal procedures and apply for a new construction permit.
The review meetings would be broadcast online to ensure a transparent process, Ko added.
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