Officials from different government entities were divided over whether 10 old trees in the Cheok Ka Village area in Taipa should be kept intact, during a regular meeting of the Urban Planning Council (CPU) last week, which included a discussion about the proposed legal development conditions for a plot in the area, according to which the old trees would have to be felled to make way for the construction of a new thoroughfare.
The meeting on Thursday was chaired by Wong Chiu Man, the acting director of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) – the government entity tasked with the city’s urban planning. Wong has been the bureau’s acting director since the middle of January when the then director Chan Pou Ha retired.
The area of two adjacent villages, Cheok Ka Village (卓家村) and Sam Ka Village (三家村), which is still largely undeveloped, is situated between the former campus of the University of Macau (UM) and the Lago (Lake) public housing estate (湖畔大廈).
According to its proposed legal development conditions, the plot covering an area of 3,762 square metres, which is privately owned, would be earmarked for a residential project.
The plot is part of the government’s urban development plan for the Cheok Ka Village and Sam Ka Village area, which is still on the drawing table.
The urban development plan for the area is officially known as Taipa Northern Zone Urban Development Plan, according to which most of the area would be earmarked for residential projects, with the remainder for commercial, education and other social service facilities.
The Taipa Northern Zone Urban Development Plan proposes the construction of a new thoroughfare, which would go through a location where the 10 old trees are situated.
IAM disagrees with trees’ relocation
During Thursday’s meeting, Lo Chi Kin, a vice-president of the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), said that the proposed thoroughfare would certainly affect the 10 old trees. Lo said that the 10 trees are on the government’s official old tree protection list, adding that all 10 trees are aged over 100 years.
Lo pointed out that according to the Cultural Heritage Law, all trees listed in the old tree protection list are prohibited from being felled or relocated, except for when their removal is in the major public interest.
Lo noted that while it is technically feasible to relocate old trees, the relocation of old trees entails a very high risk to their survival. Lo said that the 10 old trees are located very close to each other, making their relocation even more difficult.
Lo said that therefore his bureau disagreed with relocating the 10 old trees or even felling them. Lo said that the Taipa Northern Zone Urban Development Plan is still on the drawing board, because of which it would be feasible to adjust where the proposed thoroughfare would be in the area.
DSSOPT says no alternative location for road
During the meeting, Mak Tat Io, who heads the DSSOPT Urban Planning Department, said that the urban planning of the Taipa Northern Zone will involve the handling of numerous privately-owned plots in the area, because of which his bureau believed that it would take a long time for the construction of the proposed thoroughfare to get off the ground. Consequently, Mak said, his bureau will not come up with any plan to relocate the 10 old trees in the near future.
Mak said that if his bureau concluded in the future that the thoroughfare would be constructed in a way that impacted the current location of the 10 old trees, his bureau would discuss with IAM officials to find a solution for the protection of the 10 old trees.
Mak was quick to add that the proposed thoroughfare would be an “arterial road” for the area, insisting that there was no alternative location suitable for the proposed thoroughfare.
Lo replied that a thoroughfare would not necessarily need to be constructed in a straight line, adding that various solutions are available for keeping the 10 old trees intact, such as a “three-dimensional” road system involving the construction of flyovers and underpasses.
Wong insisted that it is technically feasible to relocate old trees. Wong said that according to the Taipa Northern Zone Urban Development Plan, the proposed road would be a thoroughfare for Taipa, which would be the extension of the current Avenida de Guimarães (基馬拉斯大馬路), adding that the proposed thoroughfare would enable vehicles to more directly travel from central Taipa to near the entrance to the Macau-Taipa Friendship Bridge.
Wong underlined that in the future his bureau would discuss with IAM officials how to deal with the 10 old trees.
This photo taken last week shows some of the 10 old trees in the Cheok Ka Village area in Taipa. Photo courtesy of TDM
