Social housing | CCAC rules out malfeasance during Ilha Verde fire shutters replacement

The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) said that its investigation did not find evidence that any departments or authorities had committed any illegal acts during the replacement of the fire shutters of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde.
Between the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, the fire shutters inside the underground car park and the podium of the economic housing complex Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde failed to meet the relevant requirements and did not pass inspection. Following interdepartmental discussion, it was decided that 100 fire shutters would be replaced. The cost of the works amounted to over MOP12 million. The incident raised social concern and sparked queries as to whether unlawful acts were involved.
In a recently released statement, CCAC said that there was no legal violation in the procedure of awarding the works.
However, the corruption watchdog questioned the necessity of replacing the fire shutters. The watchdog reported that the relevant departments and/or authorities were not found to have endeavoured to look for solutions through other channels. As a result, the newly installed fire shutters worth over MOP4 million were replaced wastefully.
The CCAC also stated that the issue “significantly reflected the problem of coordination and cooperation among public departments.”
“It seems that the construction project of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde was completed in an unorganised manner during the phases of vetting and approval, construction and rectification,” said the CCAC. The bureau added that the Housing Bureau (IH) failed to rigorously perform its role of coordination as vested by the Economic Housing Law. “The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) and the Fire Services Bureau (CB) had all successively failed to inform the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) or the IH concerning their policy on the standards for fire resistant class of fire shutters,” it stated.
During the investigation, the CCAC obtained documents and information from the IH, DSSOPT, CB, GDI and private entities. The full report, titled “Investigation Report on the Fire Shutters of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde,” has already been submitted to the Chief Executive.