The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has introduced new material and maintenance technology for road surfacing in Macau, aiming to resolve the problem of disruptions during roadworks by reducing surfacing time and extending service life, Kou Ngon Fong, deputy convenor of the Northern District Community Service Consultative Council said, quoting IAM officials who attended the council’s regular meeting yesterday.
Briefing reporters after yesterday’s closed-door meeting of the government-appointed council, Kou quoted the bureau as saying that the new material is 2.5 times more expensive than other material and has a service life of more than five years.
Kou said that Macau’s roads have mainly been laid with asphalt and concrete and that the former is considered to have a shorter lifespan than the latter in coping with Macau’s heavy traffic, especially as rainfall causes asphalt roads to be prone to wear and tear.
Kou also quoted IAM officials as saying that the new materials, an improved asphalt, has been used in Guangzhou for more than eight years and has proved to be “relatively satisfactory” in terms of breakage and maintenance rates.
Kou suggested that new administrative regulations governing public roadworks in Macau should be introduced as soon as possible to minimise disruption caused by unnecessary excavations, that the bureau should continue to introduce new road surfacing techniques and materials, and that reasonable construction schedules should be set to balance the need to complete construction with the need to minimise public impact.
Northern District Social Services Consultative Committee member Chan U Iong added that the new surfacing material and technology have been piloted in eight places in Macau, such as in front of Macau Science Centre, Avenida Son On in Taipa, and around Ká Hó Tunnel.
According to the IAM official quoted Kou, some of the road sections with the new surfacing materials and technology have been in use for six months and the corresponding sections are harder and better coloured than the previous asphalt, adding that this is considered to be the general direction for future roadwork improvements.
Kou Ngon Fong, deputy convener of the government-appointed Northern District Community Service Consultative Council (centre), and committee members Chan U Iong (right) and Chang Kam Pui pose during yesterdays’ press briefing after the council’s closed-door meeting with the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) officials at the Macau Government Service Centre in Areia Preta district yesterday. Photo: Ginnie Liang
