Although pointing out mistakes at two construction projects near the collapsed Guia Hill city wall, the government has develop no mechanisms to avoid similar occurrences in the future.
The city wall is about 400 years old and has been listed as a local historic site.
On the evening of June 9, part of the city wall fell without warning. The incident did not cause any injury or casualty.
Before this, on both sides of the wall, two construction projects were underway. To the southeast of the wall was a private residential development, while in the northwest was the construction site for the public hospital’s specialist medical building.
Three months after the incident, the government, represented by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP), issued part of an investigation report on the incident. The Civil Engineering Laboratory of Macau (LECM). handled the investigation.
The LECM listed several possible causes for the incident, but rejected rainwater as the cause because, the rainfall level was 1.2mm on the day. However, in the preceding two days, heavy rain was recorded, which intensified the pressure on the city wall.
Based on both official data and data provided by the constructors, the LECM found the retaining wall structure and the triangular low-rising wall near the bottom of the city wall were not intact. Drainage systems was also absent on the retaining wall, causing corrosion to the main wall.
Bored pile work was being conducted at the private residential development when the incident occurred. The work caused vibrations to travel in all directions, further impacting the intactness of the city wall. At the same time, the terrain caused water to wash to the lower end of the wall over the years, further shaking the body loose.
The LECM therefore identified three factors as the possible cause of the incident – the simultaneous constructions, the heavy rainfall and the weakness of the city wall.
The LECM also indicated the constructors of both projects had not done enough to better protect the wall, with particular emphasis on the long interval of surveillance on the wall, as well as the impossibility of regular hands-on inspections, as double-layer scaffolding was built against the wall.
In addition, it also pointed out that the constructor for the hospital project did not inspect the wall before the project commenced.
Lawmaker slam govtís lack of planning
Lawmaker Ron Lam has spoken to local media, All About Macau, saying the two adjacent construction sites should be held responsible for the city wall’s collapse. He added that if there had been no construction project nearby, the wall would not have been damaged.
Lam also said the abstract of the investigation report made no suggestion as to how the remainder of the wall could be rescued or protected, let alone who should bear responsibility for the original collapse. He commentated that obviously no bureau had upheld their responsibilities in maintaining the wellness of the newly fallen wall.
The lawmaker suspected no communication had occurred between the various bureaus concerned, such as the Health Bureau and the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
He said there is a systemic flaw in the mechanism supervising private development and the protection of relics.
Therefore, the lawmaker called on the government to reveal to the public the responsible parties, the errors made and its plans to refine the mechanism.
