Urban planner thinks Pearl Horizon lot should be redone

Urban planner Lam Iek Chit criticized the draft of the Pearl Horizon substitute housing as “rudimentary” and should be redone.
Lam, a member of the Lam Iek Chit Urban Planning Commission, commented that the current draft had not taken into account many basic principles in urban planning, the urban planner told the online news outlet All About Macau.
“No issue with respect to transport, ventilation and layout of public facilities has been addressed in this draft,” Lam pointed out. “This plan shouldn’t have been submitted to the Urban Planning Commission.”
The Pearl Horizon residential development was discontinued due to failure to meet mandated deadlines. The plot assigned to the development will be used for alternative housing to be built for the pre-sale buyers of the original residences.
The project is now under the administration of the Urban Renewal Company, a publicly funded entity. The company previously pointed out that the housing will be built following private residential practices.
Lam pointed out that the plot of land would include private housing, temporary housing and public facilities. The urban planner said none of these had been stipulated in the draft, which is unacceptable in urban planning.
“Nobody can judge with common sense where each facility will be located,” the urban planner pointed out. It is worth noting that the land is 7 hectares in size, compared with its “brother development,” the Baía do Mer’s 1.4 hectares.
The current draft is especially unsuitable as the large plot of land may house up to 30,000 people. If that is the case, the pressure on communal facilities will be exceptionally heavy.
Lam also stressed that the plot of land is the ventilation access point to the plots further in the Peninsula. The layout of the land will affect the ventilation of the inner Areia Preta District.
In addition, the plot of land is the district’s transport hub. As such, Lam thinks the draft should be redone and resubmitted to the Urban Planning Commission. AL