The government-appointed Urban Planning Committee voted on the legal conditions proposed by the Lands, Transport and Public Works Bureau (DSSOPT) for the possible development of a plot next to the city’s Muslim cemetery. Twenty of the 26 members of the committee who cast their votes supported the conditions while six voted against.
With the support by the council, a high-rise of up to 127 metres can be built on the plot.
The Urban Planning Committee on Tuesday held a meeting on the DSSOPT premises to discuss and review the proposed legal conditions for a development project on the plot next to the Muslim cemetery in Ramal dos Mouros.
Leong Keng Seng, the committee’s vice president, chaired the meeting, which was partially open to the media. The media were able to watch a live TV broadcast when councilors discussed the matter.
The DSSOPT will take the final decision on the legal conditions set out for any possible development project after listening to committee members’ opinions.
Customarily, the committee meeting is chaired by Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario. Due to a possible conflict of interest, Rosario did not attend the meeting when members were discussing the proposed legal conditions for the plot.
Rosario told the committee last month that the possible conflict of interest was due to his work in the private sector in the past.
The committee had first discussed the proposed legal conditions for the plot in 2014. There had then been starkly different opinions on the maximum height of 127 metres suggested by the bureau with some committee members questioning the reasons the government had given for the height limit and that the possible high-rise development could result in poor air circulation and cause traffic congestion as well.
However, other committee members supported the height limit as it was in line with the law.
The committee has 35 members- 27 from civic groups and eight officials.
Asked by reporters as to why the committee did not allow the public to know which members supported or rejected the plan, Leong said that each committee members who voted wrote their name on their ballots but only the committee knew who had voted for or against.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
