Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said this week that after the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) has been upgraded to a bureau-level permanent entity, which is slated to happen later this year, it will be tasked with planning and supervising all government projects, while the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) will no longer be responsible for any government projects.
Rosário made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Tuesday after attending a closed-door committee meeting in the Legislative Assembly (AL).
The Infrastructure Development Office was set up in 2000 as a “project team” tasked with planning and supervising large-scale infrastructure projects, such as land reclamation, bridges, flyovers, tunnels, checkpoints, ferry terminals, public housing, health facilities, and various other government buildings.
Since the then Transport Infrastructure Office (GIT) was abolished in 2019, the government’s task of supervising the construction of Light Rail Transit (LRT) has also been carried out by the Infrastructure Development Office.
In addition to its current functions of urban planning, land management, and the supervision of private projects, the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau is currently also tasked with planning and supervising certain public projects, normally smaller-scale ones, such as footbridges, roads, sewerage systems, and the renovation of government buildings.
Rosário told reporters last month that the government expected its plan to restructure both the Infrastructure Development Office and the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau to be completed by the end of the first half of this year.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Rosário said that after the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) has been upgraded to a bureau, it will be responsible for all types of public projects.
At that time, according to Rosário, the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau will no longer be responsible for any public sector projects, while it will keep all its other functions, namely urban planning, land management, and the supervision of private sector projects.
After the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau has been restructured, Rosário said, it will then have an additional unit tasked with supervising the city’s electrical and mechanical projects and facilities.
Rosário also said that the government will not hire any new staff after the restructuring of the two public entities due to financial constraints – instead it will transfer some officials from the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau to the upgraded Infrastructure Development Office.
Rosário said that after the Infrastructure Development Office has been upgraded, it will get new premises on one of the floors of the current DSSOPT headquarters in Estrada de D. Maria II (馬交石炮台馬路), apart from its current premises in Nam Kwong Building (南光大廈) in Zape and CNAC Building (中航大廈) in Nape.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário (right) speaks to reporters in the Legislative Assembly (AL) on Tuesday, as Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) Deputy Director Lai Weng Leong looks on.
Photo courtesy of TDM
