The Taipei City Government yesterday approved contractor Farglory Group’s third design for the Taipei Dome, saying that the firm would need to submit an application to restart construction.
Farglory said that it would submit the documents as soon as possible.
The project was suspended on May 14, 2015, after the city government said there were 79 design changes that did not match the blueprint.
Photo: CNA
The Taipei City Construction Management Office ordered Farglory to reduce the site’s maximum capacity, increase the number of emergency escape routes and fire safety zones, and pass seven urban planning reviews, two environmental assessment panels, two reviews on fire prevention capabilities and a fire scenario exercise within five years.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that the city would hold Farglory to the strictest standards and would not allow the project to go the way of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, a facility in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) that was mothballed following a referendum two decades after work began on it.
No permit to operate the Taipei Dome would be issued if even one item failed a review, Huang said, adding that all of the changes to the blueprint must be implemented and construction is to strictly follow the plans.
Construction and Planning Agency Director Huang Ching-mao (黃景茂) said that Article 34 of the Construction Act (建築法) says that the office handles administrative review processes, while experts and architects are to go over every construction issue.
Huang Ching-mao said that everyone was particularly concerned with Article 97 of the Building Technical Regulations (建築技術規則), as compliance with the article is a key to whether the facility could be used for concerts.
Regarding Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei’s (簡舒培) accusation that the city government had not kept a promise to ensure that all of the fire escapes are completed, Vivian Huang said that construction is ongoing and the city government would review whether the fire escapes meet safety standards once they are completed and before issuing an operating permit.
Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-hui
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