Over 7,400 sign petition against hazardous materials warehouses

Edith Mak, representative of the residents

Representatives of Seac Pai Van residents, along with a few lawmakers, have delivered a petition with some 7,426 signatures requesting that the draft plan of building two warehouses storing hazardous materials near the Cotai residential area be withdrawn.

A representative of the residents, Edith Mak, expressed that the neighborhood is “worried and scared” about the government’s plan to build the dangerous-good-containing warehouses.

Mak explained that the warehouses are located less than 200 meters from residential areas, criticizing the government’s draft plan for building warehouses in Concordia Industrial Park.

“This is not a normal warehouse that stores harmless goods, but a warehouse that store dangerous goods. We think that it is a threat to our lives. By locating the warehouses on this site, we are very disappointed with the decision of the government,” Mak told the press following the petition delivery at the government headquarters.

“We want to rebut […] the statement made by Fire Services Bureau Commissioner, Leong Iok Sam. He expressed that that selected site for the warehouses are quite far from the location of infrastructure. We strongly disagree with this idea,” said the Seac Pai Van resident.

Mak also lamented that the project lacked a proper public consultation process, as many residents were not informed about it.

“Although the government claimed to have made a public consultation, they have only received two proposals. We want to ask how big of an impact can two proposals make and represent? These 7,000 signatures are the ones that truly represent the voices and thoughts of the residents,” she said.

The proposal from the government to build new hazardous materials storage at the industrial park in Coloane had previously raised several questions from the Urban Planning Committee (CPU).

Although Leong previously mentioned that the land plots will serve only as temporary locations for storage “until we can find a more suitable and definitive land plot, that should possibly be in a landfill,” residents hoped that the government will locate the planned warehouses away from residential areas.
“Because the site selected is wrong from the very beginning. No matter how safe this warehouse is, we won’t believe it. […] We have collected related information and evidence that is backed up by data. We are not people going against the government without backed-up information,” Mak added.

The Seac Pai Van residents believe that the proposal is an example of “bad urban planning that lacks rationality and future-sightedness.”

Meanwhile, lawmaker Sulu Sou, who was also present at the petition delivery, recalled two incidents:  the explosion of an illegal warehouse at Ilha Verde in 2003 and the Tianjin Port chemical warehouse explosion in 2015.

“Citizens have [requested] to remove the warehouse for many years but the government refused and did not care about those opinions,” he recalled.

“We don’t want the residents to [hold demonstrations] on the streets every month regarding these facilities,” he added, recalling the protest held last month against the government’s crematorium plans.

CE: departments should better explain new projects

THE CHIEF Executive (CE) said yesterday that public departments should “take a step forward and better explain the new projects to [the] population.” Chui Sai On was commenting on the project for the new warehouse for the storage of “hazardous products” that the government plans to install temporarily in a land plot within the Concordia Industrial Park in Coloane, next to the Coloane Wastewater treatment plant. Responding to citizens’ concerns, the CE said that “it is a concern for the government on how to create a healthy environment for the population. In the end, we have the same focus as the population, we all want to be in [a] healthy and safe environment.” He noted that on this matter, he is currently “available to hear opinions.”