Gov’t urged to thoroughly inspect flaws in public housing

After mosaic tiles fell from a housing estate in Coloane Saturday, two commentators have called for the government to promptly commence thorough inspections on government-commissioned residential estates.

It was alleged that Typhoon Chaba caused the mosaic tiles on the exterior of Block 3, Koi Nga Building in Seac Pai Van Government Housing Estate to fall from high floors.

The tiles fell to the ground, onto a leisure and recreational area for the public, but caused no injury as most were indoors due to the typhoon. The detached surface measured about 3m x 5m.

The Fire Services Bureau (CB) was informed of the fallen tiles. Upon arrival, rescuers discovered that a piece of concrete, measuring 1m x 0.5m, was also detached from the wall at Block 7 of the same residential estate.

The event was later referred to the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSCU), the police and the property management company.

That afternoon, CB officers returned to the site and discovered cracks in the external tiles on Block 15. This issue was also referred to the agencies.

The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) and the Housing Bureau (IH), in response to media enquiry, emphasized that the falling tile event would not have a structural impact on the buildings, citing a third-party inspection report.

Both bureaus added that before the typhoon hit Macau, the builder commissioned to build the buildings was required to present a repair and working plan. The builder has now been assigned to fix the problem.

However, the symptom-focused approach to managing the situation does not satisfy the two commentators to whom the Times has spoken, namely Agnes Lam, president of Macao Civic Power, and Johnson Ian, deputy director-general of the Association of Synergy of Macao.

Both Lam and Ian pointed out that the government should commence a thorough inspection on the property to confirm, at a minimum, that there are no further flaws. If present, these flaws should be addressed collectively.

In addition, both commentators were unhappy that, so far, no update had been released with regards to the procedures on defects at local government housing estates.

Earlier this year, the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) issued a report on the matter, pointing out that the IH, being the de-facto developer of these property projects, did nothing in response to the request for sufficient documentation to facilitate its investigations.

CCAC pointed out that, despite asking other bureaus, such as the terminated Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) for information, it did nothing to pursue the information when DSSOPT refused to cooperate.

The commission added that it could have requested assistance from its superintendent, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works.

The two commentators were also in agreement on the fact that the Coloane project was built in the context of the city’s most heated construction market. “The project was generally rushed to completion,” Ian recalled, hinting that quality may have been sacrificed.

Lam, in addition, highlighted that falling tiles should not be a difficult problem to rectify because “it is a matter of crafts” and does not concern the structure of the buildings.

Ian expects the problem to persist if no overall inspections and improvements are conducted.

Apart from this, Ian expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s reaction to the incident. He criticized the government for disappearing after announcing the conclusion that “the matter does not affect the buildings’ structure,” hinting that he thought more could have been done.

He emphasized that the government should not consider this occurrence an independent incident. A serious attitude should be exercised in handling this matter, “because residents are in a vulnerable position,” he said.

On the other hand, Lam questioned why falling tiles and concrete were not observed in casinos, hotels and banks, hinting that there were ways to achieve safety.

She expects the new laws governing engineers will improve the situation, because engineers who sign and approve certain construction works will be held accountable if any flaws are later found.

Meanwhile, she believes there much that the government can do on the matter, pursuant to current laws and regulations.

Lam also suggests that skills and materials should be weighed more heavily in bid evaluations.

It was not the first time that government-commissioned housing projects recorded flaws and accidents. The subsidized residential estate started accepting residents in 2013. Two years later, some residents discovered that certain interior walls contained carton paper as part of the filling.

In the years following, various decorative and quality flaws have been reported. Reports were also made about water leakage through the exterior walls of the buildings. Some residents are finding the situation increasingly more worrying.

Net of reinforcement steel sinks at urban renewal construction site

Last week, a construction incident was drowned out by the volume of anti-Covid-19 news. It was first uncovered by former lawmaker Sulu Sou on his social media page on June 30.

The ex-lawmaker stated that he had been informed by local residents about the sinking of a large net of reinforcement steel at Lot P in Areia Preta. It is the construction site for the mid-way residences for urban renewal projects.

Sou added that the accident caused injuries to a number of workers but “it was extremely lucky that nobody died.”

He criticized the Macau Urban Renewal Limited (MUR) for reacting too slowly because its response on the accident was only available June 30, five days after the accident. What was worse, according to him, was that the MUR response was only given “in response to media enquiries.”

The MUR is fully funded by the government.

According to the MUR statement, the net of reinforcement steel that was installed as temporary support tilted. The accident mildly injured six workers, who were immediately sent to the hospital and were discharged after treatment.

The accident, according to the MUR, has been reported to the government.

On this, the former lawmaker questioned why a statement was only available five days after the accident. He also wondered whether it would be concealed if no media outlets had enquired about the accident. He also considers it important to clarify responsibilities. Al