Database for underground pipes, cables to be improved

A database on the arrangement and condition of underground pipes and cables will continue to be improved in future, pledged Macau’s Cartography and Cadastre Bureau.
In 2017, the bureau began compiling the database, aiming to collect information about local underground pipes and cables and keep track of related information.
On a radio show, the bureau’s acting director, Vicente Luís Gracias, said that access to the database would be granted to departments whose jobs include supervising such pipes and cables. The Municipal Affairs Bureau also recently applied for access.
Despite work on the database, there have been three cases of optic fibers being accidentally damaged during road work. The accidents significantly affected internet users.
Gracias, who was made acting director in June, told the radio show that the database was built so that there would be a map of the pipes and cables to help avoid such issues from happening again.
According to Gracias, the database now contains information about pipes and cables for electricity, telecommunications, cable TV, transport monitoring services, as well as sewage, tap water, recycled water, waste handling and natural gas services. It contains information about 83 subcategories of services and provisions in total.
The database records the layout of underground pipes and cables to help evaluate whether roadwork plans need to be adjusted.
The acting director also mentioned that the government had studied the possibility of building a common pipeline in the old city. However, considering the characteristics of the city’s old districts, shared pipelines are unlikely to be feasible. AL