The government will expand the scope of the nation's earthquake safety inspections to cover all old buildings, Premier Chang San-cheng said at the Cabinet meeting today.
Earthquake resistance standards were enhanced after the Sept. 21, 1999 quake, with the changes taking effect in late December of that year. Premier Chang instructed that the safety inspections include buildings that had received construction permits before this revision went into force, and encompass all public and private buildings alike.
The premier made these remarks after the Ministry of the Interior's (MOI) briefing on increasing old buildings' earthquake resistance—a necessary task because Taiwan frequently suffers from earthquakes and has many old buildings, he emphasized. He directed the MOI to accelerate relevant appraisals and measures and added that it must submit to the Executive Yuan as soon as possible all administrative matters requiring coordination with other agencies.
Privately owned buildings can be classified into two categories: residential and non-residential, Chang pointed out. He instructed the MOI to conduct safety inspections of non-residential buildings frequently visited by the public, such as office buildings, movie theaters and department stores, incentivize them to complete the necessary reinforcements, and have the reinforcements completed within two years. As residential buildings require more funding and time, he enjoined the MOI to formulate a comprehensive six-year plan and submit it to the Executive Yuan for approval and implementation as soon as possible.
Old private residential buildings, particularly congregate housing, complicate the matter further, and much publicity is required to facilitate citizens' understanding and compliance. Chang instructed the MOI to formulate a complementary publicity plan for execution in tandem with the announcement of related programs.
The premier directed various central ministries and agencies as well as local governments to accelerate appraisals and fortifications of all old public buildings under their respective jurisdictions, with the MOI continuing to supervise their progress.
It is estimated some NT$30 billion (US$891.7 million) is needed to reinforce or demolish all dilapidated public buildings under the jurisdiction of central and local governments. The Ministry of Education, for instance, is required to subsidize the fortification of school buildings all over the country. The premier thus instructed the National Development Council and Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics to enlarge the public construction budgets for the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. Chang hopes all related tasks will be completed within two years.
The premier asked local governments to allocate the budgets for public buildings under their jurisdictions, in particular elementary and junior high schools, as soon as possible. He also asked them to consolidate and speed up budget allocation for other public buildings. Should a local government run short on funding, the central government will extend support through centrally funded tax revenues.