The building at Calçada do Gaio 18-20, which has been embroiled in a long-running dispute regarding the development height, has finally resumed construction. Construction was halted for years due to claims that the project interfered with the UNESCO-classified heritage site of the Guia Lighthouse and Fortress at Guia Hilltop.
The construction has been granted a license for the conclusion of the works valid from February 9, 2023, until January 10, 2026.
In the license, it is stipulated that the building will have 20 floors (which will put the building top at a height of about 81 meters above sea level) as well as two basement floors and it has the main purpose of serving as a residential building.
The permit for the number of floors in the project means that the building will keep its current height and will not be partially demolished beyond the height of 52.5 meters above the sea-level, as advocated by the “Concern Group for the Protection of the Guia Lighthouse” (Concern Group) and allied organizations.
The height cap of 52.5 meters above the sea level comes from a dispatch (83/2008) from Chief Executive Edmund Ho that stated such a restriction concerning the UNESCO’s directives regarding the heritage protection of Guia Lighthouse.
As the works progress and the building owner starts to prepare the conclusion of the building which will have several changes when compared to the original project, the Concern Group has written a new letter to UNESCO protesting, once again, the decision of the government and arguing precisely that the cap enforced in 2008 is not being honored.
In the original project, the building had a total of 36 floors and would be limited to a maximum height of 126 meters, a reason that originally led the government to embargo the construction some 15 years ago.
In their letter, the Concern Group noted that the cap was a solemn commitment in 2008 not only by the Macau government but by China’s central government, adding, “Regrettably, the present Macau SAR government officials are eager to forget this and try their best to allow this building to finish at its current height.”
The group is calling for UNESCO intervention to avoid irreversible damage from being caused to the visual integrity of the listed heritage property.
After 14 years embargoed, the Cultural Heritage Committee has finally given the green light to the revamped project in June last year having consequently followed the procedures to obtain the licenses that allow construction to resume at the site.
