The Taipei City Government will form a negotiation task force to settle problems in the Taipei Dome construction project with the contractor, Farglory Group (遠雄集團).
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the city government received formal corrective measures from the Control Yuan yesterday, and the commissioner of Taipei City’s Law and Regulation Commission, Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元), would head the task force to negotiate with the company in an attempt to fix the 39 problems presented by the Control Yuan.
“We will contact Farglory and start the negotiation process immediately to fix the problems and conform with the Control Yuan’s demands,” Hau said at Taipei City Hall. “We do not rule out the possibility of ending the contract with Farglory if it refuses to cooperate.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF FARGLORY GROUP
The Control Yuan said the city government failed to refer the revised construction plan to its review commission for approval, and that demanded the city government and the contractor fix 39 problems with the project, including changing subcontractors and the design of the stadium, as well as expanding the building from three stories to four to create more space for department stores.
The city government was given two months to revise the contract according to the corrective measures and present a report to the Control Yuan.
Hau said the corrective measures presented the city government with an opportunity to reexamine the project, but stressed that the city government would not consider alternate plans for the land before the contract issue is resolved.
Yeh said one of the demands from the city government would be asking Farglory to replace the subcontractors.
The negotiation team would include Yeh, commissioner of Administrative Appeals Commission Chen Ye-sin (陳業鑫) and executive secretary of the Taipei Dome construction project, Chang Kang-wei (張綱維).
Yeh said the team would contact Farglory on Monday to start the negotiation process, and said the city government was confident the task force could settle the issue.
Yeh declined to discuss details of the negotiation, and refused to comment on Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung’s (趙藤雄) threat to ask for compensation if the city government decided to end the contract.
“We have been following the contract and doing everything according to the regulations. I am confident that the city government would gain the upper hand [if the case was brought to court],” he said.
The Control Yuan’s probe into the project stemmed from complaints filed by environmentalists who oppose the removal of more than 700 old trees to make way for the construction, which will occupy about 18 hectares on the former site of the Songshan Tobacco Factory in Xinyi District (信義).
Construction of the Dome, which would feature an indoor 40,000-seat stadium, hotels, department stores, a shopping center and office building, had originally been scheduled to begin earlier this year.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
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Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
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