AL Plenary | Secretary grilled again over LRT delays

Raimundo do Rosário

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, has been bombarded by lawmakers’ questions about the LRT timetable once more, even though he repeatedly stated that he’s unable to disclose a concrete timetable or budget. Nevertheless, Mr Rosário said the government is hoping to unveil the Macau section of the route within the year.
In yesterday’s Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary meeting, a series of spoken enquiries by lawmakers prompted a debate, which in a way resembled this year’s Policy Address session, when Mr Rosário discussed with lawmakers his action plan for 2015.
Mr Rosário reiterated once more that he’s unable to announce a concrete timetable or budget outlook before the stalled LRT depot structure construction issue is solved.
“We are currently in discussions with the contractor regarding the structure of the LRT depot. Last week, legal representatives of the two parties initiated negotiations and we hope to reach a satisfactory conclusion. If we do not reach a consensus, we will have to take the case to court. This is the only thing we have done so far,” he stated.
In addition, the secretary acknowledged that the government does not have enough legal advisers to help resolve these matters.
Several lawmakers urged the authority to legislate on penalties that could be applied to contractors if they fail to meet their contractual obligations. The Secretary then pledged to revise Macau’s legal framework that governs the bidding process for public construction projects.
In addition, he revealed that a Macau delegation will be traveling to Hong Kong this week to learn more about the neighboring SAR’s experience regarding compensatory penalty clauses in contracts for public works.
The depot structure is one of five projects comprising the LRT Taipa section. It features a 130,000 square meter area, which will serve as an operation control center, a factory and maintenance building, and an area for trains to be parked and cleaned, in addition to a 600-meter train-testing track.
The Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) has slammed the contractor building the depot over its inactivity and inability to finish the project. GIT previously stated that construction progress of the depot is severely lagging behind due to the contractor’s inability to actively fulfill its contractual obligations.
The secretary said repeatedly that he could not provide any concrete answers about the LRT timetable, but lawmakers insisted on knowing more details.
José Pereira Coutinho claimed, “There is a lack of transparency regarding the LRT depot.” “It’s impossible to hold someone accountable… the coordinator of the GIT left. It has become even harder,” he stressed.
Lei Cheng I asserted that regardless of the issue with the LRT depot, the government should still disclose a timetable for the project.
“We would like to complete Taipa’s LRT section construction as soon as possible. I am not promising… but we hope to conclude Taipa’s section this year. But I cannot say when we will be able to complete Macau’s section,” Mr Rosário replied.
Lawmakers urged the government to set out measures preventing similar problems arising from major public construction works in the future. They stressed that there are lessons to be learned following the budget overrun and repeated delays on the LRT construction.
“This is not only about holding government officials accountable. It’s about preventing it from happening again. All of our major public works have had issues that we cannot solve. There are even problems to be solved within the public housing units. So we need to learn lessons from our experiences, otherwise we’ll have to face delays again,” said lawmaker Au Kam San.
The secretary said, “Frankly, I haven’t had time to reflect upon how we could avoid these problems in the future. There’s a lack of equipment, human resources, and I haven’t had time to discuss this with the department heads. I think that for the construction of the new hospital we will adopt a new solution.”
Other lawmakers demanded an accountability regime, not only addressing government officials but also consultancy companies that are providing services in major public works.
The secretary acknowledged that he’s the one who should be held accountable, but that he’s trying to solve all the problems within his portfolio. “Who should be held accountable? Well I think that’s me. I no longer know how to reply to questions regarding accountability. I will try to solve all the problems. I also want to see Macau’s problems solved. But I can’t solve them all,” Mr Rosário reiterated.