Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said on Monday that he has already received a report on the case of an illegal land reclamation project in Hac Sa Village in Coloane. He also stressed that the government will ensure that public land is always properly protected.
According to the Macau Post Daily, Chui spoke to reporters at the airport on Monday before departing for Beijing where he will attend the closing meeting of the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) today.
The Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) said in a statement late last month that it was dealing with an illegal land reclamation project in the village.
The case was revealed in a news report by Macau Asia Satellite Television (MASTV) last month – which reported that a lake in front of Tai Wong Temple in the village appeared to have been illegally reclaimed by someone. The temple is a listed cultural heritage site.
According to the report, historical satellite images between 2003 and 2015 show that the area was a lake at that time. The report said that a satellite image retrieved in December last year showed that the lake had by then been reclaimed.
According to the report, the size of the reclaimed area amounts to around 30,000 square feet (2,790 square metres).
In last month’s statement, the bureau said that its officials inspected the village early this year and found that a land reclamation project was being carried out there without a licence. The statement said that in response, DSSOPT officials ordered a ban on the work on January 24, adding that the offender(s), however, ignored the ban and even sped up the work and finally finished filling up the lake. The statement also said that the case involved the illegal occupation of public land.
Speaking to reporters, Chui said he did not agree with some commentators’ view that many plots of land in Coloane are illegally occupied.
Chui said he believes that public works officials are handling the case of the illegal land reclamation project in Hac Sa Village.
Chui pledged that the government would always tackle any illegal use or occupation of public land.
Chui also said that he would meet senior officials of Hebei province, as well as members of the Tsinghua University Public Safety Research Institute and China Central Television (CCTV) during his stay in the capital.
