There are at least 3 buildings in Macao in danger of collapsing, 19 in a highly dilapidated state and nearly 90 “in a poor condition”, according to Lai Weng Leong, the head of the Land and Urban Construction Bureau.
The official was replying to a written question from legislator Ron Lam. The newspaper Hoje Macau reports that, since 2017, the government has issued around 600 notifications to building owners regarding poor maintenance.
According to Hoje Macau, Lam took the government to task for failing to prevent “situations of plaster coming off, windows falling, injuries, [and] damage to vehicles”, saying that such incidents remained “frequent due to lack of maintenance of buildings”.
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The safety of older buildings, particularly on the Macao peninsula, has been an issue for some years.
In December 2020, the Legislative Assembly passed a government-initiated bill mandating fines for building owners who fail to carry out the necessary maintenance or repair work in contradiction of official orders.
The bill also stipulated that building contractors be required to guarantee the foundations and main structure of a building for 10 years.
