2014 ELECTIONS: Only city can finish Taipei Twin Towers, deputy mayor says
TOWERING TROUBLES:Ko Wen-je said the city lacks the funds and skilled personnel for the project, while one councilor said it was covering its mistakes
By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
City-directed construction of the Taipei Twin Towers project is the only way to ensure the project’s completion, Taipei Deputy Mayor Chang Chin-oh (張金鶚) said yesterday.
Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) earlier said the city’s construction plan was wasteful because the city government lacks the funds and skilled personnel necessary to successfully complete the project.
The Taipei Twin Towers project is one of the largest construction projects in the city’s history, consisting of two skyscrapers to be built over the Taipei station of the future Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport line. After a series of corruption scandals forced the project’s initial winning bidder to withdraw and the second bidder, BES Engineering Corp, was unable to meet new city conditions for the contract, the city last month announced that it would take over responsibility for the construction.
In response to Ko’s criticism, Chang said that city-directed construction would ensure that all profits from the project flow into city coffers, using the Chinese idiom: “Rich waters shouldn’t be allowed to flow into others’ fields” (肥水不落外人田).
“While previously the government was not able to build the project itself due to a lack of funds and experienced personnel, we’ve overcome all of these problems,” Chang said.
He said the city government’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems currently has between NT$20 billion and NT$30 billion (US$655 and US$982 million) available for the project, with further funds expected from loans and sub-contractors.
The department has also gained the necessary experience to build the towers as it constructed their foundations over the past several years, he said.
Asked whether the Taipei City Council would oppose the city’s plan, Chang said the city government would work hard to persuade city councilors.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) has said that the city government’s decision was meant to cover up its lapses during the bidding process.
She said that a final decision about the project’s future cannot be made until previous bidder BES Engineering’s lawsuit against the city is concluded.
City government talk of profits from the project will only hurt its chances in the courts, she added.
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