Public housing residents concerned with possible gas leakage

The residents of public housing project Edificio da Alameda da Tranquilidade have voiced their concerns over the safety of their building’s gas pipelines.
According to a report by MDT yesterday, residents have already found that the central gas pipeline of their building shows signs of erosion, having already had a leak at the end of last year. While the authorities have already suspended gas supply to units that showed a genuine risk of gas leakage, some proprietors think that these troubles were only the tip of the iceberg.
Information suggested that residents started noticing the pipeline issue at the end of 2011, when they first moved into the building. They claimed that the authorities assured them that the pipelines could last for 30 years. However, during an annual checkup in September last year, the gas supplier found that there were leakages in the pipes, and the authorities found the situation to be worse than expected when they dug up the pipelines. Residents were concerned that they may fall victim to gas leakages at any moment.
Although the authorities have proposed the installation of new pipelines and positioning new gas meters on the balcony of the apartments, most of the project’s residents have objected to the proposal because they think it would reduce the room available for residents.
In reply to Macau Daily Times, the Housing Bureau said that it will call a proprietors’ meeting at the beginning of March to discuss the reinstallation of pipelines. It has also notified the gas supplier to prepare for the construction, and to continue maintenance and repair on the current pipeline system.

No consensus on Sin Fong Garden demolition

Proprietors of the endangered Sin Fong Garden building held a meeting yesterday, during which a representative of the group, João Vong Kuok Fai, proposed that the building should be demolished and rebuilt despite the fact that they are still unable to acquire consent from the owners of an apartment and a shop. Vong said that if those two property owners decided to oppose the reconstruction, the project would then be suspended and the issue would be decided in court. He also warned that the cost of reconstruction will continue to increase if Sin Fong’s residents keep stalling the decision.