Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng promised on Monday that the government will protect Ilha Verde Hill.
Tam made the remarks when replying to an oral interpellation by lawmaker Ho Ion Sang during a plenary session of the legislature.
Ho said that while Ilha Verde Hill has been listed as a cultural heritage site for many years, it has never been properly protected.
According to previous news reports, many plots of land around Ilha Verde Hill are privately owned.
Ho lamented that on the plots of land around the hill there are a string of scrap yards, piles of rubbish and construction material waste.
The government has said that the owners of the privately-owned plots scattered around the hill have the responsibility to protect the hill, while civil society has repeatedly urged the government to come up with measures to protect it, Ho said.
According to the website of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), a development plan for Ilha Verde was first announced by the city’s then Portuguese administration in 1996, but the plan was shelved.
According to the website, the government launched a public consultation in 2009 about the urban development of Ilha Verde, after which it announced a new development plan for the district.
Ho questioned the government on what measures it would implement for the protection of Ilha Verde Hill.
Replying to Ho, Tam said that Ilha Verde Hill is protected by the Cultural Heritage Protection Law, which came into force in March 2014.
Tam reaffirmed that according to the law the owners of the privately-owned plots around the hill have the duty to protect it.
Tam said the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) would ask the Civil Registry Office and Mapping and Land Registry Bureau (DSCC) for information on the privately-owned plots.
Tam said that after the bureau obtains that information, it would urge the relevant plots owners to shoulder their responsibility.
Ilha Verde (“Green Island) Hill is 54.5 metres high, the sixth highest in Macau. The island and the peninsula were connected by a
causeway in 1895.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
