The government may discontinue the tidal barrier project, which aimed to build a barrier at the entrance of the Inner Harbour seaway to prevent heavy flooding in the Inner Harbour area during severe weather events such as storm surges caused by typhoons.
The potential dropping of the mega-project was alluded to by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário yesterday at the Legislative Assembly, where he was expected to present the results of the analysis of the project’s implementation.
“If you want me to be completely honest with you, I believe that, at the moment, the probability of us not building the tidal barrier is higher than the probability of building it,” Rosário said in a response to an inquiry from lawmaker Ella Lei.
Risks associated with the project include the very high costs of construction as well as the possibility of the system being inefficient or not concluding as expected due to the need to coordinate it with other similar projects upstream, as mentioned on several occasions by lawmaker Chui Sai Peng.
Both lawmakers and the Secretary expressed concerns regarding the costs of maintenance and repairs of the system.
For the time being, the project has been placed on standby, with Rosário saying that there is a need to wait for multiple other projects to conclude – some of which are currently under development and others which are soon to be developed for flood prevention measures, not only at Inner Harbour but also in other areas of the Peninsula and Coloane Island.
“We need to wait to see if the works that we are already developing and will continue to develop are able to solve the majority of the flooding issues. This relates not only to the typhoons and storm surge but also to situations of heavy rain and exceptionally high tides that happen more frequently,” the Secretary remarked.
Lawmaker Ron Lam opposed this idea, saying that he disagreed with the Secretary’s advice to wait and see if other projects would resolve the flooding issues identified. These works include the creation and increasing in height of flood walls and levees in several areas, as well as the construction of several flood boxes and culverts as well as stormwater lift stations to help with storage and drainage of excessive rain and floodwater from lower areas.
Lam criticized what he described as a “zero response” from the government to address the issue of storm surges in the Inner Harbour, claiming that without a proper and effective solution, “people will not be interested in investing to revive the old neighborhoods.”
A more peculiar suggestion came from lawmaker Lo Choi In, who claimed that the Inner Harbour is “not needed” since most supplies to Macau now come via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, hinting that a more permanent solution could be found without accounting for the need for vessels to access the piers.
Coloane Village to have two artificial lakes to contain flood
Among the government’s projects to tackle floods is a new development for the Coloane Village, which will build facilities including a flood wall and two artificial panoramic lakes that will serve to contain the excess seawater.
One lake will be located in the Lai Chi Vun area, and another at the Avenida de Cinco de Outubro.
The DSOP director Lam Wai Hou revealed that this project is currently at the design stage, which is likely to conclude in the third quarter of this year.
Lam also explained that their purpose is to cause the waves caused by storm surges to break earlier, reaching the coastal area with less strength.
The same official also noted that the new lake areas will be beautified and include some leisure facilities such as gangways and paths similar to the ones installed in the pond in front of the Taipa Houses Museum, to be used for traveling around the lake areas.
