The reconstruction of the Sin Fong Garden residential high-rise in Patane district, which got off the ground in late 2018, has been completed, and condominium owners say they hope that government officials will complete their survey inspections of the building soon so that they will be able to move back into their flats before the Chinese New Year, which falls on February 1.
Like all other newly-completed buildings, government officials and engineers will carry out survey inspections and formal acceptance of the new Sin Fong building in due course before issuing an occupancy permit for the building.
Occupancy permits are documents that signify that a building surveyor is satisfied that the completed building is suitable for human habitation.
A ceremony that marked the completion of the reconstruction project, which has cost around 200 million patacas, was held outside the building on Thursday.
The original building was mothballed in late 2012 after several of its main pillars burst, forcing the government to evacuate all its residents. The government officially declared that the building was uninhabitable and the evacuees were confronted with the challenge of raising enough money to cover the reconstruction cost. In 2013, the government published a report by the University of Hong Kong, which concluded that several main pillars on the second floor burst due to substandard construction materials.
Reconstruction process
All condominium owners had agreed to reconstruct the ill-fated building, after in 2014 the Macau Jiangmen Communal Society announced that it would advance up to 100 million patacas for its reconstruction, while businessman-cum-philanthropist Vu Shun Him (also known as António Ferreira) announced that he would advance 50 million patacas with the aim of helping the condominium owners initiate the reconstruction project. The condominium owners had to finance the remainder to cover the reconstruction cost.
The Sin Fong Garden reconstruction project finally got off the ground in October 2018, when the demolition of the original building started. The reconstruction project was carried out by the local Tat Cheong Engineering and Construction Company Limited, which completed the demolition in one year.
Following its demolition, Sin Fong Garden was being rebuilt in line with its original floor plan on the same site – 30 storeys with 142 flats.
The non-profit Macau Social Enterprise Company Limited coordinated the reconstruction process and its administrative matters.
However, the Macau Jiangmen Communal Society told representatives of the condominium owners last year – when the reconstruction project was still ongoing – that it was unable to continue advancing money for the reconstruction project due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its financial condition.
The Macau Jiangmen Communal Society had reportedly paid a several million patacas for the reconstruction project as advance payment since its launch until last year – when it stopped paying for the project.
According to previous media reports, Vu took back the 50 million patacas kept in trust by Macau Social Enterprise Company Limited early last year, after he had been told by the social enterprise that the condominium owners had come up with enough money for the reconstruction project, including additional bank loans. Vu also told the media at that time that he needed the money due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sin Fong Garden reconstruction project was finally still able to go head after the condominium owners had reportedly managed to raise enough money, mostly by obtaining additional bank loans, late last year for the project.
Macau’s 1st high-rise demolition project
Representatives from Macau Social Enterprise Company Limited, Tat Cheong Engineering and Construction, and the local Bank of China (BOC) branch attended Thursday’s ceremony that marked the reconstruction project’s completion.
The representatives said during the ceremony that even though Sin Fong Garden was reconstructed in line with its original floor plan, an additional number of foundation piles were driven into the ground with the aim of making the building extra strong against super typhoons. In addition, the representatives said, facilities inside the building were installed in an improved way, such as enlarged space for the lifts.
The topping out of the new building was completed in February this year, before the whole project was completed last month, the representatives said.
The representatives also said that the demolition of the original Sin Fong building, which was built in 1994, was Macau’s first project of knocking down a high-rise, pointing out that the demolition was challenging as the building contractor had to ensure that the demolition would not cause any impact to the structures of the adjacent buildings.
The representatives also noted that all of the reconstruction cost was finally financed by the condominium owners.
Some of the condominium owners will reportedly continue with their lawsuit against those allegedly responsible for the use of substandard construction materials when the high-rise was originally built.
A scooter drives past the newly rebuilt Sin Fong Garden residential building in Rua da Ribeira do Patane last week. Photo courtesy of TDM
