Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan just attended the prayer ceremony for the commencement of the Beitou Building and Market demolition project two weeks ago, emphasizing that public safety should be the first priority, but now a scaffolding collapse accident occurred.
A scaffolding collapsed during the demolition project of the Beitou Old Market in Taipei City this morning, injuring four people. Coincidentally, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan only attended the blessing ceremony for the "Beitou Building and Market Demolition and Renovation Project Commencement" two weeks ago. At that time, he emphasized that public safety should be the first priority. Now the mayor's wife Shi Fanggen went to Beitou to sweep the streets, but an accident occurred at a nearby construction site, which attracted attention. In addition, some people reported that construction problems were reported through 1999 many times before the incident. The city government clarified that there were 4 related complaints and no notification of construction site safety violations, and all of them had been properly handled. However, whether construction site safety issues were involved still aroused discussion.
Jiang Wanan said that after preliminary investigation, it was found that the building on the demolition side had been demolished, but the scaffolding was not lowered simultaneously in accordance with regulations, which is suspected to have caused the collapse. In accordance with the contract, the city government will impose a heavy fine of 2.5 million yuan on the construction manufacturer and order it to stop work. It will later clarify the cause of the accident and related responsibilities, and require the manufacturer to truly review and improve to ensure construction safety.
In response to external doubts that there had been multiple 1999 violation notifications before the incident, the Beitou City Government stated that from May this year to the present, there have been four complaints related to the Beitou Market Project, including construction noise, littering by construction workers, relocation of stalls, and the shaking of homes caused by demolition operations. These are not construction site safety violation notifications, and the relevant bureaus have responded and dealt with them.
The Beijing Municipal Government pointed out that in response to reports from the public that the demolition project caused vibrations to their homes, the New Construction Office has required manufacturers to adopt construction methods that reduce impact and vibration, and to adjust the demolition procedures and operating methods according to site conditions to reduce the impact on surrounding residents. The city government emphasized that all records of complaints and handling situations are traceable, and the scaffolding collapse incident will be thoroughly investigated.
In fact, when Jiang Wanan attended the blessing ceremony for the commencement of the demolition and reconstruction project of the Beitou Building and Market two weeks ago, he said that the city government always puts public safety first, so it decided to change the original renovation plan to a comprehensive demolition and reconstruction, hoping to create a composite public space that integrates traditional market, parking space and administrative service functions to provide a safer and more convenient environment for the public. Now that the scaffolding collapsed shortly after the project started, construction safety and the city government's supervision mechanism have come under scrutiny.
A scaffolding collapse occurred at Beitou Market. Mayor Jiang Wanan rushed to the scene this morning to learn about the situation.
