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).
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
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