Zone D landfill begins preliminary work

Preliminary landfill work has begun for Zone D of the New Urban Landfills in Taipa, according to the Public Works Bureau (DSOP).

The work includes new measurements of the water depth, sludge sampling tests, proposals for a temporary maritime terminal and navigation channel excavation.

Officials expect the preliminary works to be finished by the end of the year, with landfill construction to follow.

The government has also taken steps to ease pressure on its waste construction materials landfill.

In recent years, it implemented a waste disposal fee through an administrative regulation and completed geological improvements at the landfill in 2021. Dikes were also constructed in 2023 to create more space.

However, major infrastructure projects underway have produced soft ground waste that is difficult to stack vertically at landfills, posing new challenges.

Estimates show several projects will generate over 2 million cubic meters of soft ground waste, but the waste construction materials landfill lacks capacity.  As a result, officials are looking for other suitable disposal locations.

After analysis, Zone D meets the conditions to use soft ground waste under its design’s 7 million cubic meter capacity for natural sand, inert materials, and landfill execution.

Processing soft ground for use as a priority material could achieve resource reuse and reduce natural sand costs.

With ministry support, dredged materials from the temporary terminal and channel excavation can also be transported to mainland China through inter-regional cooperation for disposal.

Zone D’s preliminary works are moving forward to ease Macau’s waste pressures.

In 2022, the government launched a public tender for the construction of Zone D, which will have an area of about 570,000 square meters located in the north of Taipa and the maritime area away from the Estrada Nordeste da Taipa; that is, in the area between the Amizade Bridge and the Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge.

The land plot will be used mainly for housing purposes, according to the assignment in the Urban Master Plan.

According to the tender, the maximum execution period for the construction has been set to 1,450 working days (about four years). The landfill is expected to cost almost 2 billion patacas. Victoria Chan