The government is planning to build lifts to connect Coloane’s sprawling Seac Pai Van public housing estate and Coloane Hill – but the starting date looks to be a long way off.
Following a closed-door meeting of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council, councillor Ng Hong Kei reported that Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) officials had said that the project aims to make it more convenient for residents living in the public housing estate, which is at the bottom of Coloane Hill, and hikers to the top.
The lifts would be built near the estate’s bus terminal, which is located next to the Seac Pai Van Community Integrated Building.
It is estimated that approximately 30,000 people (around 4 per cent of Macao’s population) live in the Seac Pai Van estate, which consists of about two dozen blocks comprising subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) flats and social rental housing units.
IAM officials first told lawmakers in late 2019 that the bureau was planning the lift project, which was originally expected to be completed in 2021.
IAM officials said during yesterday’s meeting that they still did not have a timetable as to when the project could start.
A deputy convenor of the council, Lam Ka Chun, said that a number of councillors had asked the IAM officials whether it would be possible to build cable cars connecting the Seac Pai Van public housing estate and Hac Sa over Coloane Hill. The officials replied that they would study the feasibility.
According to both councillors, the lifts would have a similar design to those connecting the viewing platform on Big Taipa Hill and near the Taipa Houses-Museum complex, and would also feature a viewing platform, The Macau Post Daily reported.
“The project will make good use of the hill resources there and make it more convenient for people to reach hiking trails on Coloane Hill,” Ng said.
