Taipei 101 said on Monday that the New Year’s Eve fireworks show will go on this year despite the impact of the recent waste oil scandal.
The recent Ting Hsin International Group oil scandal has impacted business interest in supporting the fireworks show. Ting Hsin is being investigated for allegedly mixing animal feed oil with cooking oil and selling it for human consumption. Ting Hsin is the largest shareholder of the Taipei Financial Center Corp. which owns Taipei 101.
Taipei 101 Chairperson Christina Sung said the fireworks display would cost between NT$30 to $40 million. But because of the recent oil scandal, they haven’t been able to raise NT$30 million yet. She also said the lighting system for ads has been removed so they can’t sell that space either.
Sung said Dubai’s Burj Khalifa fireworks show budget is US$10 million. Corporations help sponsor the show and are given advertising space inside the building.
The Taipei 101 is still looking for sponsors. But Sung said that no matter what happens, the fireworks show will go on. This year will be the same length as before at 218 seconds. The show will be designed again by the famous French fireworks theater Group F.