Briefs | Gov’t charging stations more expensive than private ones

The Macau SAR’s planned charging stations for electric motorbikes will be more expensive than private ones. The Office for the Development of the Energy Sector (GDSE) issued a statement explaining the local government’s plans for the charging stations. During the first stage, the government will install 200 public electric charging stations. Considering the costs of installing, operating and maintaining the charging stations, in the long term, the public should start paying for the charging service. Using fast public charging as an example, the current pricing plan will be higher than normal household electricity tariffs, but lower than the cost of normal gasoline consumption per kilometer. Currently, the GDSE is carrying out a study on electricity charging tariffs, which will be publicly released in due course.

Gov’t will not consider mandatory window inspections

The government says it needs to study further the possibility of launching a mandatory window inspection scheme. In a reply to lawmaker Agnes Lam’s interpellation, the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) used Hong Kong as an example, saying that a mandatory window inspection scheme is difficult to carry out on a large-scale because of problems such as uncooperative individuals. The bureau expects Macau to face the same problems as Hong Kong, so the bureau wishes to further study the topic first. In addition, the bureau said that the SAR government has no intention of studying the effect of Macau’s current measures, which consists of authorities encouraging the public to inspect the windows on their own without a legal requirement.

Community advisors propose multifunctional detention basin

Community advisors of the central districts have urged the government to build a multi-functional detention basin at Praça de Ponte e Horta. The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) has plans to build a detention basin below the Praça de Ponte e Horta park. Central district advisor Cheong Sok Leng proposed that the government to upgrade the garden’s current water fountain and that the future detention basin be used as a facility to prevent floods and as a car park. Another advisor, surnamed Hong, proposed that the building accommodating the detention basin have three floors. The bottom level will be used for flood prevention, the middle as an immigration checkpoint and that the top be used by the government for both commercial and administrative purposes.