By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) has violated a legislative resolution by putting out a new construction tender for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, a lawmaker said yesterday.
A Legislative Yuan resolution on Feb. 26 stated that no additional budget for the plant would be allocated before a national referendum on its future is held and placed a moratorium on Taipower placing new tenders and installing fuel rods.
However, the Longmen Construction Office at Taipower’s Department of Nuclear and Fossil Power Projects, which is in charge of the construction of the plant, violated the resolution by announcing a tender for a heat-tracing system on the company’s Web site on Wednesday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
“The illegal tender showed that the Executive Yuan’s integrity and sincerity to abide by the resolution is in question,” Kuan told a press conference in Taipei.
The Executive Yuan should step up its effort to monitor Taipower, she said.
According to Kuan, Taipower admitted the mistake to her and agreed to withdraw the tender for the second nuclear reactor’s heat tracing system, saying it would place a new bid for the first reactor’s heat tracing system.
At a separate press conference, DPP lawmakers Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) and Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) said a construction company with a questionable record was among the subcontractors at the plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市).
Kuo Teng Construction Co (國登營造), which was found to be responsible for construction flaws at the Wugu-Yangmei Overpass, secured a construction bid worth more than NT$300 million (US$1 billion) for the plant.
While the winning bidder for the project listed on the Public Construction Commission’s (PCC) Web site was Cheng An Technology Co (城安新科技公司), Yeh said, its company address was the same as Kuo Teng’s, according to data provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.