Thu, Jul 09, 2020 page3

• Safety always comes first for Dome complex: Ko

  NEWS CONFERENCE: Several safety improvements have been made to the design, the most important of which was reducing crowd capacity, Ko Wen-je said

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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  The Taipei City Government would make sure the Taipei Dome is as safe as it can be, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) promised yesterday as he announced that the capacity of the Dome complex would be capped at 59,833 people for the first three years of its operation.

  Ko held a news conference yesterday morning to outline the public safety standards and performance reviews for the Dome project ahead of the city issuing a new construction permit for the project next week.

  The Taipei City Construction Management Office approved Farglory Group’s new construction permit proposal on June 22, signaling that work might resume on the project after a five-year suspension.

  

  Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je answers reporters’ questions yesterday at a news conference about the Taipei Dome project.

  Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times

  The city government halted the project in 2015, citing 79 items that had not been built according to the approved blueprint. It also announced seven public safety standards for the project that same year.

  The Taipei High Administrative Court in 2016 ruled that Farglory could continue to work on 14 safety-related remedial tasks to prevent the structure from collapsing.

  More than a dozen members of Taipei City Council’s Public Works Committee on Tuesday visited the site, where a representative told them that the completion rate for general hardware facilities is about 68 percent in the park area and 82 percent on the dome itself.

  Councilors across party lines questioned whether work outside the scope of the 2016 court ruling had taken place, as there appeared to be some new facilities since the committee’s last visit, sparking a heated debate between the site representative and councilors.

  Ko told reporters yesterday that court rulings over the past five years have always been in the city’s favor, and the Taipei Dome park area design has gone through seven urban design review sessions, two environmental impact assessment (EIA) sessions and two fire prevention and evacuation design review sessions, with those of the first two broadcasted live online.

  Among the safety improvements that have been made were expanding the basement level’s fire compartments from one to 14, adding eight evacuation ladders so that each compartment has one, improving the emergency escape route and expanding the space where people can seek shelter, he said.

  However, the most important change was reducing the maximum capacity of the complex from 137,963 people to 59,833 — a number that was approved at one of the EIA meetings.

  “It [Farglory] originally set a capacity of about 137,000 people, which is too scary, so the capacity had to be reduced to ensure safety,” he said. “It is set at 59,833 people at the start of operations, and it must remain at 59,833 people for three years, with a review after that period.”

  The seven public standards set for the Taipei Dome have not be altered, and the project has now meet the standards, but the city government would continue to review what it feels are unreasonable portions of its contract with Farglory, including a zero royalty payment, to protect public interest.

  Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said the zero royalty payment and low penalty rate are the two most unreasonable parts of the contract.

  The city has reached an agreement with Farglory to increase the penalty from NT$50,000 to NT$100,000 (US$1,689 and US$3,378) per breach and increase the maximum penalty from NT$3 million to NT$9 million, she said.

  The city hopes to deal on the zero royalty payment issue by reaching an agreement on how to split the Dome’s excess revenue after it begins operation, she said.

  Asked if the city plans to open the Dome complex while he is in office, Ko said completing the project during his watch would not be a big achievement to him, but coping with the aftermath would be.

  If the Dome is not to be demolished, it has to be made safe and usable, so the city government would act according to the law to ensure that it is “as safe is it can be, according to our conscience,” the mayor added.

  Additional reporting by CNA
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