Chui considers renegotiation of LRT contracts

Traffic passes construction of an elevated LRT track, left, and the Wynn Palace project, right

Chief Executive Chui Sai On said yesterday that the Macau government will continue to discuss the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) construction project with contractors, and will resolve disputes through legal measures if the two parties cannot reach a consensus.
Mr Chui made the comment on the sidelines of the Central Government Liaison Office Chinese New Year cocktail party at the Macau Tower. He said that based on the report he received from Raimundo do Rosário, Secretary for Transportation and Public Works, he understands that out of the five major LRT constructions in Taipa, the authorities are more confident of resolving issues with four of them.
As for the construction of the LRT depot, the CE said that the government will continue to discuss it with the contractor. He also pointed out that authorities have fined the contractor before: “If [the contractor] really cannot [achieve a consensus with the government], we must resolve the issue legally since Macau is a place that upholds the rule of law,” he said.
The CE recognized that residents are mostly concerned with the traffic issue in Macau. He said that the government will continue to push forward LRT construction and will roll out new measures, apart from prioritizing public transportation, to resolve the traffic problems in the SAR. He believes that the progress of construction on the Macau LRT section will be back on track once the authorities can come up with the route plan.
LRT construction delays made headlines again following a report by the Commission of Audit issued in January, predicting a massive budget blowout and delay of the project.
After attending a meeting of the Legislative Assembly (AL) Land and Public Concession Affairs Committee on Monday, Secretary Raimundo do Rosário said that the administration still couldn’t provide any estimation for the final budget of the LRT project. He also said that while the authorities were able to resolve issues in the construction of three segments and a transportation interchange in the LRT Taipa section, the building of the LRT depot is behind schedule. The Secretary warned that the delay in the depot’s construction might even affect the delivery of the LRT trucks.
In terms of the LRT Macau section, for which the government still did not provide a concrete route plan, Mr Rosário said that the progress was stalled among disputes regarding the NAPE area segment. He predicts that the administration will be able to publish the consultation report on the route plan within the first half of this year.
However, the Secretary said that the government still cannot provide any predictions on the budget or construction period of the Macau section. He also claimed that problems are to be expected in projects as enormous as the LRT construction, and sometimes it is inevitable for the authorities to disagree with the contractors. He said that the government would not evade responsibility and that he would try his best to find any possible solutions and measures for the LRT project.
Meanwhile, after listening to the briefing by the Transportation Infrastructure Office, AL committee president Ho Ion Sang said that he was certain the LRT Taipa section will not be finished and ready for operation in 2016. He said the LRT depot construction is in a de-facto suspension stage. If the depot cannot catch up to the schedule, it is impossible to accommodate or maintain the LRT trucks scheduled for delivery to Macau from Japan this year. He said that it is possible for the trucks to first be stored in Japan, but noted that the government officials did not mention the storage cost. He also revealed that officials said the depot contractor’s attitude was “passive” and that they did not provide sufficient personnel and machinery for the construction.

Anti-graft measures applauded

Chief Executive Chui Sai On attended the Central Government Liaison Office Chinese New Year cocktail party yesterday at the Macau Tower.
In his speech, the CE said that China is calmly facing the new normality of its economy under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also said that the anti-corruption measures have achieved some clear results and, through high integrity, have helped unite Chinese citizens.
He then suggested that 2015 will be a year for MSAR to carry forward past successes and to follow the central government’s orders to be vigilant, as well as to gain social consensus and to plan for the future.
“The MSAR economic development has been cautiously optimistic. We will continue to strengthen our management of the macro economy (…) to vigorously promote the increase in non-gaming elements, to foster new growing factors of the economy while maintaining the employment of residents and help the residents to improve their skills, to support small and medium-sized enterprises and to speed up the diversification of the economic development,” he said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Liaison Office, Li Gang, said in his speech that Macau has to be aware of the new changes in its internal and external environment, and to face and resolve conflicts with courage. He also said that the MSAR government should start preparing to review the gaming industry’s development and to make plans on the development of Macau into ‘one center’ (a world center for leisure tourism) and ‘one platform’ (a regional trade and business service platform).