Light rail chief to be hired from abroad

A Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) representative acknowledged that at the moment there are no local people with the needed skills to run the Macau Light Rapid Transit (LRT) project.  “The model of  the LRT is a novelty for Macau and in regards to the implementation of the project, Macau lacks seasoned professionals to manage the LRT project. Consequently we are thinking about hiring someone from outside with experience in operating light rail projects,” said GIT’s deputy director, Ng Keng Chung yesterday during a press conference held at the Transport Bureau (DSAT).

GIT organized a meeting with local journalists to present the law draft that will serve as a basis for the operations of the future LRT Company which entered public consultation yesterday.

The bill proposes that the LRT be funded by a publicly-owned company. “The government will create a company which is integrally publicly owned to be able to run the LRT. We are not going to include any funding from abroad or from private entities,” Ng Keng Chung explained.

According to Ng, the basis of the decision for creating a publicly owned company was the fact that “outsourcing” a private company with the needed experience to run the transport system “could lack in flexibility on the management of the LRT.” The government felt that its power to supervise in case of a formal concession “could be compromised,” since the company will run autonomously and will be responsible for expenditure and income.

When questioned on the constitution of such a company and when it would be created, Ng did not reply in concrete terms, instead noting that the bill currently under public consultation only defines the guidelines of each party, namely the government and managing company. “For the time being, that’s what we are doing. We haven’t yet stepped to the creation of the company,” he added.

Ng also noted that although it was assumed that no people with the required skills to run the LRT are in Macau at the moment, the government hopes to have local people with capacity to manage the LRT system in a short period of time. Thus, the need to train local staff could be one of the conditions stated clearly in the the contract with the management company.

The government will “delegate competences on this company to run the daily operations of the LRT,” Ng said, adding that the government will also inspect whether or not the company is fulfilling its duties.

In response to a question on when such a law could be delivered to the Legislative Assembly (AL) to be discussed and approved, Ng said: “We expect that with the collection of these opinions we should be able to perfect and improve this first draft into the final law draft to be presented to the AL. Presumably we expect to finish the writing of this law draft within this year.”

As for the document that is now in public consultation for 60 days until April 13, Cheang noted that experiences from the interior of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Portugal inform its main focus to “grant the security of the operations and a good quality of service,” establishing the duties and responsibilities of the operating company.

In terms of security, responsibilities for accidents and compensation to passengers over damage caused was targeted in the draft document, which sets a base line of MOP200 million for the indemnity insurance to be hired by the company.

The document also establishes a list of duties, responsibilities and penalties for passengers including the payment of fees from MOP2,000 to 10,000 and, in some cases, an additional penalty between 5 and 15 years of imprisonment for crimes related to security violations, the launching of projectiles against the trains and the stopping of operations, among others.

Also discussed were the operations and constructions in the surroundings of the LRT facilities. Special “protection areas” were created that disallow any works in the air or soil in the surrounding areas of the LRT without prior consent from the authorities, namely the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT).

The consultation plan establishes residents must be able to access the consultation document via an “opinion box”, in addition to phone, Internet or post. As Ng said, public clarification sessions are also planned to take place from March.