Macao Water to partially subsidize facilities maintenance in old buildings

The Macao Water Supply Company Limited has set aside MOP10 million for the water facilities maintenance project. Commencing on April 1, the project will provide subsidies to owners residing in buildings which are more than 20 years old to recondition timeworn water facilities.
The Company will sponsor 80% of the total cost, with the remaining 20% to be subsidized by the flat owners or dwellers. The upper funding limit will be set for MOP50,000 in each case, broken down to an estimated fund of around MOP100 to MOP200 for each apartment.
The eligible recipients for the funding will be limited to flat owners on the lower floors —seventh or lower — of buildings older than 20 years, which have been enduring cracked structures, leakage, or severe rusting in their water supply facilities.
During the first stage, the company will issue an advisory notice to eligible recipients to encourage flat owners and dwellers to sign up for the renovataion project.
The notice will spell out the total estimated expenditure for the waterpipe project and the tally for each household in every concerned building, said Chu Wai Man, deputy general manager from Macao Water at an explanatory briefing.
The total renovation fee will be first paid by the company, which will later apply the respective charge into each household’s water bill. “The households, therefore, do not need to face the headache for paying the upfront cost themselves in advance,” he explained.
The Company will commission a third-party company to carry out the renovation.
Each case will be evaluated and vetted before being granted the funding.
If a maintenance project does not receive approval from two-thirds of the building’s dwellers, a forced restoration might be carried out, Chu added.
He expects the scheme will benefit around 5,000 apartments across approximately 400 to 500 buildings in Macau within three years.