Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said there are currently about 2,200 public charging stations in Macau, of which only half are operational, but the government was, nevertheless, ready to open more public charging stations at any time if there was public demand for them.
Rosário made the remarks during yesterday’s one-day Q&A session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle about his portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year.
Rosário noted that there are about 5,000 electric motorcycles in Macau, with an average of more than 500 vehicles a day using public charging stations. The policy secretary said he believed the supply was sufficient to meet demand in the short and medium term.
Rosário acknowledged that the number of electric vehicles in Macau is increasing at a slow pace, with 250,000 motor vehicles in total, among which there are fewer than 10,000 electric private cars and motorcycles, adding that the government will continue to promote and increase the use of e-vehicles through publicity and education measures.
Meanwhile, Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man said that the government has revised the requirements of the electrical specifications, pointing out that since last month all private-access car parks need to lay cables so that charging stations can be set up there.
During yesterday’s plenary session, some lawmakers expressed concern about the potential safety risks of portable battery charging cabinets for e-motorcycles.
In response, Transport Bureau (DSAT) Director Kelvin Lam Hin San said that there are currently 14 charging cabinets in seven public car parks, all of them in residential areas for the convenience of the public.
However, Lam acknowledged that the current fire protection system of car parks does not include fire-extinguishing measures for batteries, so that the sector still needed to tackle the issue.
In addition, Tam noted that the government carried out a large-scale waste composition analysis in 2021, according to which the number of plastic shopping bags was reduced by about 34 percent compared with 2018, while the reduction in the number of plastic bags from chain-supermarkets and convenience stores exceeded 70 percent.
Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man addresses yesterday’s Q&A session about his portfolio’s 2024 policy guidelines in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle.
– Photo courtesy of TDM
