The Macau government has introduced new plans for the social housing project at Av. Wai Long, which will contain approximately 2,000 fewer residential units than the 6,000 to 6,500 properties that were previously estimated.
On Friday, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo Arrais do Rosário introduced the two new plans to the legislators at the Legislative Assembly (AL).
The first plan proposes 11 towers running from east to west, which will provide 4,800 to 5,300 residential units. According to the second plan, the government will also build 4,000 residential units in a formation running from north to south.
Both of the new plans indicate the government’s intention to reduce the supply of social housing at Av. Wai Long.
The government’s original plan was to build 6,000 to 6,500 properties as part of the Av. Wai Long social housing project, which under a previous proposal would include 13 towers.
The original plan had already been evaluated for its impact on traffic, air circulation and the environment.
The government will still need to assess the impact of the two new plans and will need to adjust the designs for the Wai Long social housing project if the original plan is abandoned.
Several lawmakers who participated in the introduction session asked the Secretary questions regarding the project. The issues varied from infrastructure and transportation to community service and the supply and demand of social housing.
Responding to the lawmakers, the Secretary repeatedly reiterated that, by proposing these new plans, the government intends to provide better living conditions for social housing residents.
“I want them to live a bit more comfortably. According to current statistics, there are 190,000 families, and there are already 210,000 social housing units. We [the government] recovered land of 70,000 [square meters]. Macau has the land to build social housing,” Rosário said.
The government believes that the new plans will provide residents with better quality community service, as there will be fewer families in the area to serve.
According to Rosário, the government is not using the new plans as an excuse to delay the Wai Long social housing project.
“Why should I let 6,000 households be squeezed together?” Rosário asked.
In addition to providing better living quality, Rosário is also keen for local families to be able to move into social housing sooner.
The official remarked that the government has been spending large amounts of public money to launch government-subsidized houses. However, he disagrees with putting subsidized housing projects on the market when there are fewer than 10,000 units in supply.
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