Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man says that with the city’s current and only construction waste landfill in east Cotai nearing saturation, the government is planning to build an “ecological” island to be reclaimed with construction waste about one kilometre off Coloane’s Hac Sa Long Chao Kok coast.
Tam made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Saturday at the Cotai Ecological Zone after his bureau’s ceremony marking the upcoming World Wetlands Day on February 2 (this Friday).
The current landfill for construction waste, which has been used since 2006, is located near the airport.
Long Chao Kok at the south-eastern tip of Coloane island is located between Hac Sa (Black Sand) Beach and Cheoc Van (Bamboo Bay) Beach.
The central government granted Macau formal jurisdiction over its coastal waters covering 85 square kilometres in December 2015. The city’s current land area amounts to 33.3 square kilometres.
Tam said on Saturday that with construction projects in the Zone A land reclamation area and in the city’s other areas being carried out extensively, the current construction waste landfill was rapidly nearing saturation, because of which, Tam said, the local government was now intensively planning the creation of an ecological island to be reclaimed with construction waste.
Tam underlined that no waterfront areas on the Macau peninsula and Taipa island including Cotai will be suitable for another construction waste landfill.
Consequently, Tam said, after careful assessment, the local government has decided to choose a maritime area about one kilometre south of the Long Chao Kok coast as Macau’s future ecological island.
Tam said that the government was now carrying out an environmental impact assessment as well as other required studies such as a study on the planned ecological island’s possible impact on navigation. The local government aimed to submit the respective reports to the central government before the end of this year for review and approval, the eco-chief said.
Tam also underlined that the ecological island reclamation project will not directly dump construction waste into the sea. Instead, Tam said, the project will create the island’s embankment and base with normal land reclamation materials first, only after which the area will be gradually filled with different types of construction waste.
Tam underlined that the construction waste to be used for the project will be carefully sorted so that it will meet national standards.
Moreover, Tam also underlined that the area chosen for the ecological island is not where Chinese white dolphins often swim. Instead, Tam said, they primarily swim in an area at least eight kilometres from the chosen location, an area that is part of the nation’s officially protected zone for Chinese white dolphins, namely the 460-square-kilometre Guangdong Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve.
Some eco-activists have expressed opposition to the planned ecological island project because of its potentially adverse impact on the life of Chinese white dolphins.
Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man talks to reporters at the Cotai Ecological Zone on Saturday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
This map released by the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) last month for the ongoing public consultation on the government’s proposed marine functional zoning plan for Macau’s coastal waters shows the proposed ecological island indicated in orange south of Coloane island.
