Lawmakers hint longer delays on Islands Hospital

The government has announced that it is planning to introduce a system that would penalize contractors who fail to meet their deadlines for public works, after discussing the issue of the indefinite launching date of the Islands Hospital.
During a Legislative Assembly committee meeting on Monday, authorities said they are considering to introduce an award and penalty scheme for contractors who fulfill or neglect their due dates.
According to the government, the program could also be applied to the Light Rapid Transit, one the region’s controversial infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile during the meeting, lawmakers doubted whether the controversial Islands Hospital, which started in 2010, would be launched in 2019 as there would only be three years left to unveil the project.
Ho Ion San, president of the Legislative Assembly’s Follow-Up Committee on Land and Public Concession Affairs hinted that there was a lack of coordination between the Health Services Bureau and the Infrastructure Development Office, implying that the deadline would not be met yet again.
“The contract clients are the Health Services Bureau, which hired a company for its design, and the Infrastructure Development Office, or GDI, in charge of tenders,” he explained, cited by TDM.
“And this has meant that up to now the public tender has yet to be launched and the government doesn’t know the final budget.”
Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, admitted earlier that it was not possible to estimate the final cost for the controversial hospital.
He noted that the complex, which is comprised of seven buildings, will “definitely take time,” requesting the public to be “more understanding.”
As previously reported, the design process of the hospital has not yet been finalized. do Rosário noted that authorities needed to consult more than ten government departments in order to approve the site’s construction blueprints.
english could be given ‘official status’

The committee suggested that English should be used more often by the administration or even given an “official status.” Lawmakers included the suggestion in the report about the Islands Hospital construction works, which will be delivered to the president of the Legislative Assembly. Members of the government attending this week’s meeting reportedly agreed that “English should have more preponderance in Macau.” However, lawmaker Leonel Alves, who is a member of the committee, said that the proposal doesn’t mean that English could become an official language in Macau.