Macao Water Operations Manager Annie Chan Hong Teng told reporters yesterday that the government’s first integrated pipe and cable laying pilot project will start at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
The project is slated to last 50 days, she said at a joint press conference at the Transport Bureau (DSAT) yesterday afternoon.
The press conference was also attended by Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) Division of Public Roads Acting Chief Lei Man Cheng, DSAT Coordination Division Chief Mak Hou Kit, Public Works Bureau (DSOP) Infrastructure Maintenance Division Acting Chief Luís Leong Kin Chong, and Public Security Police (PSP) Traffic Department senior officer Ho Ka Kit.
According to Chan, the project involves Rua dos Mercadores (營地大街) and its surrounding area, comprising engineering work including pipelines for the tap water supply network, electricity, sewerage, gas, various telecommunications services, as well as the laying of pipes for newly completed buildings.
Rua dos Mercadores (“Merchants’ Street”) is one of the most important thoroughfares in the city’s old quarters.
According to Mak, the project will be carried out in three phases, during the first and second phases, from October 9 to November 7, the entirety of Rua dos Mercadores will be closed to traffic. Mak also said that sections of Rua de Camilo Pessanha (庇山耶街) and Rua das Estalagens (草堆街) will temporarily be converted into one-way traffic in the opposite direction. This adjustment will allow vehicles to pick up and drop off passengers and goods within the area, access parking facilities, and maintain local traffic circulation, Mak said.
During the third phase, Mak said, from November 8 to November 27, construction work will be concentrated on the internal streets within the district. The temporary vehicular traffic closures and reversed traffic directions in Rua dos Mercadores, Rua das Estalagens and Rua de Camilo Pessanha will be lifted at the conclusion of the third phase, with the original traffic arrangements resuming from 10 a.m. on November 8.
The statement, which was released during the press conference, noted that through the government-initiated road works coordination mechanism, the likelihood of repeated excavations would be reduced by the pilot project. This would be achieved, according to the statement, by integrating various project models and implementing advanced planning to lay the necessary pipes for development-ready plots within the project’s road closure areas. Water supply pipe and electricity and telecommunication cable connections for new buildings will be carried out concurrently, alongside the replacement of ageing pipes, when ductile iron pipes will replace galvanised steel pipes – to enhance the security of the area’s tap water supply, the statement said.
The statement also said that the project will be carried out in coordination with the owners of four new buildings completed on Rua dos Mercadores and Rua Oeste do Mercado de S. Domingos (公局新市西街) to connect street drains and lay pipes, while proactively reserving piping capacity for six surrounding development-ready sites.
When asked by reporters how many years the area would remain free from repeated roadwork excavations after the project’s completion, Mak said that, barring any emergencies, it could be guaranteed not to be dug up again due to project needs for at least three years.
Pedestrians walk past shops on Rua dos Mercadores (營地大街) yesterday afternoon.– Photo: Armindo Neves
This map provided by Macao Water shows the areas scheduled for cable and pipe roadworks in Rua dos Mercadores and its surrounding area. The pink sections indicate Phase 1, the yellow sections Phase 2, and the blue sections Phase 3 of the integrated cable-pipe laying pilot project.
