The long-stalled Taipei Dome project passed the final review process yesterday, obtaining approval from Taipei City’s Urban Design Review Committee, with construction scheduled to start in October.
The approval was the final step for the project after the city’s Environmental Impact Assessment Review Committee granted conditional approval on May 26. The urban design committee said the contractor should make adjustments to the plans in accordance with the requirements of the environmental impact committee before beginning construction.
The environmental impact committee required the developer of the project — Farglory Group — to reduce the size of the complex’s commercial facilities, including a shopping mall, movie theater, hotel and office space by 17 percent to 202,610m2, and increase parking space to 187,965m2.
The conditions also included adding another lane to Zhong-xiao E Road, presenting a traffic plan that avoids congestion in nearby residential areas and acquiring environmentally friendly building certification.
Ting Yu-chun (丁育群), urban design committee chair and commissioner of Taipei City’s Urban Development Department, said the developer must revise its plans to meet the conditions before applying for a construction license.
Janus Lee (李柏熹), manager of Farglory’s operation administration department, said the company would make the adjustments immediately and apply for a construction license by July 2, with preliminary plans for construction to begin in October.
The urban design committee’s decision was met with protests from environmentalists and local residents, who said the project would have a negative impact on traffic flow and the environment.
Taiwan Green Party spokesman Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said various committee members had expressed concerns about the project in previous review meetings, but the city government insisted on approving the project. Pan urged Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to hold a public debate with environmentalists on whether the city needs another commercial complex in downtown Xinyi District (信義).
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
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