Seac Pai Van group reiterates protest against hazardous materials depots

A group of residents of the Seac Pai Van area gathered in a public assembly held at the neighborhood’s Lok Kuan Building yesterday, to again protest against the government’s decision to build two temporary hazardous materials warehouses in the surrounding Concordia Industrial Park.

The gathering was joined by a couple dozen residents and had the support of several Legislative Assembly (AL) lawmakers, namely José Pereira Coutinho, Ng Kuok Cheong, Sulu Sou and Au Kam San.

In the assembly, the residents continued to criticize the government’s decision to build such facilities in a location that is, in their opinion, too close to residential areas and, because of that, potentially harmful for the population.

The residents also reemphasized that, besides the short distance to several housing developments, the facilities will be next door to other public spaces, such as the bicycle path of the Flor de Lotus area, the Golf Course, the Karting track and the Seac Pai Van Park, which houses the Panda Pavilion and is a place highly frequented and visited by families and school groups.
Some of the residents recalled that such a project makes even less sense, as the government has been announcing plans such as a tourism school to be located in the area, recalling that any incident with the facilities can have serious consequences.

With the on-going petition and the public assemblies, the residents hope to gather more support from the population of Macau to force the government to change the selected location for the facilities.

Last week, Pereira Coutinho addressed the topic in the questions and answers session of the AL, which was attended by Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On.

Replying to the questions of the lawmaker, the CE said, “to build a safe city is our goal,” adding, “in the future, through analysis and studies, we will find a final place at the artificial island of Macau and another at the Ilha Verde area.”

The CE reminded also, “this is a project that has limitations, there are very few places that can respect the standards defined for [the storage and management of] such products,” noting that the choice of location at the Concordia Industrial Park had essentially to do with the fact that, generally, these products arrive to Macau via the Flor de Lotus (Cotai) border, avoiding unnecessary storage and transportation across the city.

At this opportunity, the CE also reaffirmed that the relevant departments needed to clarify to the public all the information in detail, noting that “soon, the Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak will present this project on the location together with the Fire Services, explaining how will we manage and guarantee safety.” RM