Zone A construction extended to 2017

This model depicts Reclamation Zone A, where 96,000 people are expected to live in 32,000 residential units that stretch along 138 hectares

The reclamation contract of Zone A has been formally extended from 2015 to 2017, according to a notice published in the Official Gazette this week.
The extension follows an announcement made by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário, who stressed earlier this month during the Policy Address debate that it would be impossible to complete all of the government’s planned infrastructure measures in such a short time.
Authorities had initially scheduled the completion of the Zone A reclamation works, located in the Macau peninsula northeast, for last month. However, they failed to comply, allegedly due to a short supply of sand.
“I hope that there is sand in 2016. I do not know if it will be right at the beginning or the end of the year. It is merely my expectation. If we do not have sand, then we will proceed with the construction of a temporary bridge,” said Raymundo do Rosario during the second day of the secretarial debate.
During the debate, do Rosario did not provide a deadline for the conclusion of the reclamation works. He explained that he would not yet be able to fulfill all of the MSAR government’s promises, due to the numerous works that still have to be completed by 2019. These range from public transport and housing to land management, taxis and more.
However, the consortium in charge of the construction says that there will be no change to the amount of money that will be used for the reclamation works, which is allegedly close to 1.9 billion patacas.
Due to the delay of the public housing projects planned for Zone A, the bridge will likely open before the reclamation works are completed.
The secretary announced earlier that in the event of further delay to the reclamation works in Zone A, the government is willing to build a temporary bridge connecting the Macau peninsula directly to the HK-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.

pro-democracy group slams gov’t for idle land

The Macau Community Development Initiative urged the government to retrieve three land plots that have passed the deadline for property development. The land resources, identified by the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) in its report released last Thursday, have been idle for a long time. The group, which is linked to the New Macau Association, attributed the issue to the authorities’ inaction and demanded they  publicize the information of all land swathes due for recovery. It also accused the officials in question of malfeasance. The abovementioned land plots have a combined surface area of over 14,000 square meters.