Macau, China, 4 Mar – The government of Macau on Monday signed an agreement with the authorities of Sichuan, which was hit in 2008 by a strong earthquake, for 10 more projects to rebuild infrastructures included in the Special Administrative Region’s support plan for this mainland Chinese province.
The new projects are valued at a total of around US$102 million (697 million yuan) and include rebuilding two villages, three roads, two dykes, a bridge, a water station in Xiwan and a wastewater treatment facility in Li Zhou, according to a Macau government statement.
Fernando Chui Sai On, the secretary for Macau Social Affairs and Culture who also presides over the Macau committee that is providing support for the reconstruction efforts in the areas affected by the earthquake, was present in Sichuan in representation of Macau.
In addition to the reconstruction projects, Chui Sai On and his 12 Macau delegates also took part in a meeting to cooperate in the sport sector.
A total of 17 projects for the Li Zhou district have started with the signing of these agreements, and with the cooperation of Beijing, studies will start on 19 projects in the education and sport sectors, which are the object of other Macau cooperation initiatives.
Macau is going to contribute 5.5 billion patacas (US$687 million) to rebuilding efforts, which are expected to take place over a period of three years, instead of five years, which was previously forecasted by the local authorities.
The province of Sichuan was hit in May of 2008 by a strong earthquake that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, as well as material damages that forced China’s two Special Administrative Regions – Hong Kong and Macau – to launch a financial support programme to rebuild certain areas.
The government of Macau is also developing cooperation programmes in the tourism sector, with the aim of reactivating the tourist industry in the province, which has areas of important heritage value, namely the Leshan Giant Buddha, which sits at the confluence of the Dadu, Minjiang and Qingy rivers. Other sites include the Jiuzhaigou Valley and
the Huanglong Valley and Emei Mountain.
(MacauNews)
