Taipei City councilors on Tuesday proposed additional subsidies to encourage the demolition and reconstruction of buildings in the city made using concrete that contains sea sand.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The use of sea sand in construction “will accelerate rebar corrosion and result in flaking of the concrete in blocks, severely damaging the building’s structure” in the long term, the city government’s Web site says.
The city currently offers a subsidy of NT$200,000 per household within a building, toward the cost of demolishing structurally unsound buildings.
If passed, the proposal would add an additional subsidy of NT$600,000 per household toward the cost of structural-safety appraisals, which could be implemented as soon as next month using an NT$6 million special budget, Department of Urban Development head Wang Yu-fen (王玉芬) said during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The subsidies would also be included in the city’s annual budget starting next year, if passed, she said.
Chinese Nationalist Party Taipei City Councilor Wang Chih-bin (汪志冰) proposed the appraisal subsidy, saying it would encourage those living in high-risk buildings to take action to protect their safety.
There are currently 96 buildings in the city that were built using concrete containing sea sand, she said, adding that many buildings go unappraised due to the high costs involved, and the lack of consensus on appraisal and reconstruction among building residents.
A large contributor toward that lack of consensus is that many older buildings lack a management office, and residents must share the cost of building appraisals between themselves, Independent Taipei City Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (陳政忠) said.
Chen also suggested that the budget for the appraisal subsidy should be doubled to NT$12 million starting next year.
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