The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) said in a statement yesterday that the government will fine the building contractor for the new prison project’s third phase as the company had failed to complete the work at the end of last month, an extended deadline that had been arranged by the government.
The statement did not reveal the amount of the fine.
The new prison project’s third phase is being carried out by Shanghai Construction Group (Macau) Limited, aka SCG Macau.
The government has said that it expects the city’s new prison in Ka Ho in Coloane, the construction of which got off the ground over a decade ago, to come into use next year.
Macau’s current prison complex is located near Coloane Village. The new jail will be located on a hill in the hamlet of Ka Ho.
The new prison project comprising four phases started in August 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed at the end of 2014, but the project has been hit by repeated delays.
The first phase of the new prison project was completed in 2016, while the second phase was completed in 2019.
According to the DSOP website, the government commissioned SCG Macau in June 2019 to carry out the new prison project’s third phase, which was then initially scheduled to be completed in May 2021.
However, the government has extended the permitted completion deadline several times as the project’s third phase has been affected by repeated delays and, according to the DSOP website, the latest deadline for the third phase was last month.
Yesterday’s DSOP statement said that the government had permitted the building contractor to complete the new prison project’s third phase by the end of last month. However, the statement said, the contractor had still failed to complete the project by the extended deadline.
Consequently, the statement said, the government will launch an administrative procedure to fine the contractor in compliance with the building agreement.
According to the statement, the still incomplete works include the wire connections between various electromechanical systems and their respective tests, final cleaning, connections of sewer pipes, and installations of fences.
The statement pledged that the bureau will continue to urge the contractor to complete the unfinished work as soon as possible.
This handout photo taken from the Public Works Bureau’s (DSOP) website yesterday shows the new prison project’s third phase in March.
