Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said yesterday that the government was discussing with a consultancy that was hired to carry out a research study on the city’s urban renewal process whether it will pay the company the full amount of the contractual consultancy fee, as there was now no need to continue the research after the government had decided not to carry out a public consultation on the research report – which was initially a part of the research to be carried out by the company.
Rosário made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a closed-door meeting of the Urban Renewal Council.
The meeting of the council, chaired by Rosário, was held at the Transport Bureau (DSAT) Building, which houses offices of the Transport Bureau and the Lands, Public Works and the Transport Bureau (DSSOPT). The government-appointed council is tasked with advising the government on its urban renewal policies.
The government hired a consultancy – Deloitte Consulting Services Limited – in 2018 to carry out research on how the city’s urban renewal process should go ahead, for a fee of 14.5 million patacas.
During yesterday’s meeting, Urban Renewal Council members were briefed about the latest status of the consultancy’s report.
The consultancy’s research was initially slated to include a public consultation process.
However, the government launched a two-month public consultation in October 2019 on the drafting of a bill regulating the city’s urban renewal process. This public consultation process was headed by the government’s then secretary for administration and justice Sónia Chan Hoi Fan.
Rosário first told reporters late last year that the government had decided not to carry out a public consultation on the consultancy’s research report, as the government had already launched a public consultation in late 2019 on the drafting of an urban renewal bill.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Rosário reaffirmed the government’s decision not to carry out a public consultation on the consultancy’s research report. He said that as the government had already launched a public consultation in 2019 on the drafting of an urban renewal bill, there was “no need to repeat” a public consultation on the same matter.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário speaks to reporters after chairing yesterday’s meeting of the government-appointed Urban Renewal Council. Courtesy: TDM
