Guia Lighthouse protection lobby asks gov’t to honor promises by past administrations

The government should fulfill its promise of better protection of the views of the Guia Lighthouse made by its predecessors, a representative of the Concern Group for the Protection of the Guia Lighthouse has requested in a recent open letter.

Supported by old news clippings, the group pointed out that, as early as 2008, the then Chief Executive issued Dispatch No. 83/2008 to restrict the height of construction within a certain radius of the lighthouse.

In light of that, a building on Calçada do Gaio, at that time unfinished, should now be lowered to 52.5 meters, according to the dispatch. The group also pointed out that the direction was confirmed in a promise by the then director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT).

Recently, the government announced that the green light has been given to the resumption of construction on the building to its planned height, on the condition that the design be altered. The adjustments have been accepted by UNESCO, the government added.

While asking the current administration to better protect the Guia Lighthouse by lowering the height of the building, “[we] deeply regret that the previous two Chief Executives did not keep the promise and did not resolve the above mess during their terms of office,” the group added.

Apart from that, the group also called for the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) to investigate the matter so as to “help to strengthen the transparency and integrity of public administration, strengthen the supervision mechanism and ensure the legitimacy of the exercise of public power.”