Urban Master Plan final report in CE’s hands by September

The final report on the Urban Master Plan will be ready to be delivered to the Chief Executive (CE) by September this year. The status of the plan’s final edition was acknowledged by the director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Chan Pou Ha, after the fourth plenary meeting of this year of the Urban Planning Council (CPU) on Wednesday.
Chan told the media that all council members, having gathered opinions from the public consultation, need to submit their individual perspectives on the plan by June 5.
After this, the DSSOPT will develop a final report that (according to the regulations) must be completed within 90 days, or by early September. It must then be submitted to the CE, which will then forward it for final drafting and delivery to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for discussion and approval.
As the Times reported in late March this year at the AL, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, conveyed that the government was aiming for approval of the Urban Master Plan to happen by the end of this year. Rosário promised to move forward promptly with the detailed plans for the project once the plan is approved.
“By the end of this year, we will have the Urban Master Plan finalized and ready for approval. We will do everything in our capacity to have it approved within this year,” Rosário said in reply to an inquiry from lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong. “After that, we will work immediately on the detailed plans,” he added.
At the CPU meeting, members were also presented with the findings of the general public consultation that took place between September and November last year.
The results showed that the 10 topics of greatest concern to the public were related to: residential areas, ecological reserves, public facilities, marine usage, green and public outdoor areas, transport, industrial areas, commercial areas, scenery, and cultural heritage preservation.
Highlighted among these concerns was the preservation of the three main hill areas of Guia, Penha, and Coloane.
The public was not convinced with the scientific grounds of the study, with the plan garnering 52 out of a total of 70 comments opposing the government’s literature on the Plan, with only one comment in favor.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Chan also informed the media that the results of the study on the installation of a floodgate to prevent major flooding in the Inner Harbor area is already with the DSSOPT. She stated that the results will be presented as soon as “some technicalities are completely finalized.”