- TAIPEI (AFP) -- Work here
on what will be the world's tallest skyscraper will shift into high gear
on Friday after a half-year delay caused by a deadly earthquake, according
to Taiwanese officials.
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- "From tomorrow on, one floor will be added to the
building every 6.5 days, and the building's entire steel structure is scheduled
to be completed in October next year," a spokesman for the Taipei
Financial Centre Corp said Thursday.
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- A shopping mall at the building, called "Taipei
101," is due to begin operation in October 2003.
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- Construction was suspended after the March 13 quake,
measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, sent two cranes that had been working
on the building crashing to the ground.
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- A taxi driver who stopped at traffic lights near the
building was killed when one of the cranes landed on his car.
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- Four workers were killed after falling from the building.
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- At a planned 508 meters (1,674 feet), the building in
Taipei's bustling Hsinyi district is intended to outdo the world's tallest
building, the 452-meter (1,492-foot) Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
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- However the tragedy sparked fresh debate here about whether
authorities should allow skyscrapers to be built in Taiwan, which is prone
to earthquakes.
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- A quake with a magnitude of 7.6 devastated Taiwan on
September 21, 1999, leaving 2,400 people dead and some 100,000 temporarily
homeless.
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- The deadly temblor toppled 51,753 homes and damaged another
54,406.
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- Since then the Taipei government has amended the law
to enhance construction safety standards.
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