Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man told the media yesterday that the number of electric cars and electric motorcycles registered in Macau has reached over 3,000 and 2,000 respectively, adding that among the newly registered vehicles, the proportion of e-vehicles was “relatively high”, which showed that residents were gradually choosing e-vehicles as a means of transport.
Tam made the remarks after yesterday’s press conference about the upcoming Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF) at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo. During the press conference, Tam said in a speech that the local government has been striving to strike a better balance between social development and environmental protection by implementing various energy conservation, emission reduction and environmental protection policies, continuously optimising various environmental infrastructure facilities, launching subsidy schemes for phasing out old motorcycles and diesel vehicles and promoting schemes for the use of electric vehicles.
Regarding the government’s promotion of the use of electric vehicles, Tam said that the government had in the past promoted the use of electric vehicles through measures such as the tax exemption policy for e-vehicles and the installation of charging piles for electric vehicles in public carparks.
With 1,200 charging piles for electric vehicles being available in public carparks, in addition to those in Macau’s integrated resorts, the number of charging piles has meanwhile attained an equilibrium between supply and demand, Tam said, adding that therefore more charging piles will be installed, depending on the actual situation.
According to Tam, more than 2,000 charging piles have already been installed in public carparks, although not all are in operation right now.
On the public concern about installing charging piles in private residential buildings, Tam pointed out that due to certain provisions of the Macau Civil Code, there are legal issues concerning their installation, but the bureau would continue to find ways to create more conditions to overcome them, such as amending regulations that would allow carparks in new buildings to have charging piles installed in each parking space.
When asked by a reporter about an position paper on the government’s new energy vehicle policy proposed by the legislature’s Follow-up Committee for Public Administration Affairs on Friday, Tam said that the bureau will reference the relevant regulations in the neighbouring regions and take Macau’s specific situation into account when studying Macau’s possible timetable for putting an end to the new registration of fossil fuel vehicles and restricting their use, before introducing new policies concerning the matter in due course.
Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man speaks to the media after yesterday’s press conference about the Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF), which will kick off tomorrow, at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo.
– Photo: Yuki Lei
