Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said on Tuesday that the local government has decided to cancel its Zone D land reclamation project, and instead it now plans to reclaim land in the waters between the north-eastern coast of the peninsula and the Zone A land reclamation area.
The government plans to set up a green area in the newly proposed land reclamation area, Rosário said.
The policy secretary said that the local government has requested the central government’s permission for the 41-hectare reclamation project between the peninsula’s north-eastern coast and Zone A instead of the 58-hectare Zone D reclamation project.
Zone D was initially slated to lie off the northern coast of Taipa between Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge (commonly known as Old Bridge) and Friendship Bridge.
The still undeveloped 138-hectare Zone A will be primarily used for public housing projects.
Rosário made the remarks while speaking to reporters after attending a consultation session which the government held for lawmakers where Rosário and a number of senior officials listened to their opinions on its proposed draft of Macao’s official urban master plan, and its plan to build the “East” section of the Light Rail Transit (LRT). The session, which was open to the media, was held in the Legislative Assembly (AL) building.
Rosário pointed out that the Macao peninsula lacks green areas for residents to enjoy. The policy secretary said that the local government has now determined that it would be better to reclaim land between the north-eastern coast of the peninsula and Zone A for a large green area so that residents living in the peninsula’s densely populated north-eastern neighbourhoods and future residents living in Zone A can enjoy it in the future, rather than pushing ahead with the Zone D reclamation project.
Rosário said that the initial Zone D water area is not a good area to be reclaimed as it would destroy Macao’s “beautiful” coastal cityscape.
The policy secretary also asked rhetorically whether the waters off Ocean Gardens – the north-western coast of Taipa – should be reclaimed, i.e. the ongoing Zone C land reclamation project, and he then said, “Forget it [my remarks], the Zone C project is already ongoing.”
The policy secretary also said that the cancellation of the Zone D reclamation project would not result in an insufficient supply of housing in Macao in the future.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © TDM
