Legislator-cum-urban planner Jose Chui Sai Peng suggested on Sunday the government could perhaps come up with some alternative plans for the hotly debated Zone B.
Chui made the suggestions during an urban planning colloquium at Macau Science Centre, where local and Hong Kong’s urban planners and developers discussed the government’s New Reclaimed Lands Master Plan and the local traffic system. The event was organized by Macau Urban Planning Institute (MUPI).
The government plans to reclaim five plots of land from the city’s coastal waters, known as Zones A, B, C, D and E. Zone B will be divided by the old Macau-Taipa bridge into two parts. The eastern part, which sits opposite MGM, is to be used for government buildings, while the western part has been set aside for residential use, with about 2,000 private flats planned for the area which would house 6,000 residents.
When it emerged during the ongoing public consultation about the development of the five land reclamation zones that the height of the buildings in Zone B may reach 100 meters, or even more, some members of the public raised their concerns about the possible obstruction of the view of Penha Hill.
However, the government has never said that there will be a 100-metre height limit on Zone B, but the limit is widely assumed by the public to be so.
Speaking during the event’s opening, Chui made several proposals to help resolve people’s concerns about building heights. One of which was for the government to swap the planned use of the two parts of Zone B, moving the government buildings to the western part and for the eastern side to become the residential area, pointing to the fact that government buildings wouldn’t need to be built as high.
Chui suggested that alternatively the government could redistribute some of the 2,000 residential to other land reclamation zones, which would mean the residential buildings in Zone B needn’t be too high.
Responding to the fact that with the government’s current plans, there would be very little commercial space in Zone A, Chui urged the government to allow some flexibility in its urban planning, instead of labeling one area strictly for residential use or otherwise, as people wouldn’t want to live in an area where there is little to do. (macaunews/macaupost)
