Water supply | Replacement of asbestos pipes may be delayed

Nacky Kuan

Macao Water is expecting a delay in the replacement of the remaining pipes containing asbestos due to traffic matters.

Last year, the city’s sole water supplier announced that the asbestos plumbing – a material known to cause serious health problems – would be replaced as it is fragile and could be damaged by temperature changes.

However, Nacky Kuan, executive director of Macao Water, said that the completion of the project would be delayed due to traffic arrangements.

“The [project] should be finished by the end of this year but due to traffic problems and arrangements, we will push it a little bit more,” Kuan told the press on the sidelines of its annual Spring luncheon.

“Due to the traffic arrangements, most of the preparations are not yet finished [as it is] located in a very busy area so we have to liaise with the Transport Bureau to complete the pipes,” she explained, referencing the Nam Van and Kiang Wu districts.

The project – which is a five-year program – will conclude once it has replaced the asbestos plumbing in the two districts.

Meanwhile, Kuan announced that the water company recorded an income of over MOP80 million last year.

The annual water consumption hit 100 million cubic meters, a 3 percent increase year-on-year which was within expectations.

The firm predicted that the city’s water consumption for 2019 would increase by 3 percent, similar to its prediction last year, noting that consumption is greater in the Cotai district.

Kuan said that the company is capable of handling the increase in the region’s visitors expected in the coming years.

“We still have a capacity for the water demand; there is around 30 to 40 percent capacity remaining. So, we are capable of meeting the demands of tourists,” she said. “Domestic use is not a large part of the water consumption.”

Macao Water is also expecting that the construction of a fourth raw water pipe to Macau will be completed in the second quarter of this year, and raw water will be transported to the SAR from Hengqin progressively starting from the second half of the year.

The firm also said that it is speeding up the construction of the Seac Pai Van Water Treatment Plant with the aim of starting operations by the end of 2020.

Further, Macao Water announced that it will co- organize a seminar with Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Zhuhai, aiming to further promote exchanges and collaboration within the industry, as well as to provide water security and safety.