The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) announced earlier this week that it has commenced the preliminary work of measuring the depth of the water at the reclamation site for the government’s Zone D project, sampling and testing of silt and requesting permission from the central government to build a temporary loading jetty and launch dredging work, all of which was expected to be completed by the end of this year so that the Zone D land reclamation project could commence shortly.
On its official website, the bureau noted on Tuesday that Zone D, with a reclaimed area of about 570,000 square metres, is located off the northern part of Taipa, in the waters off Estrada Nordeste (東北馬路), between the Macau-Taipa Friendship Bridge and the Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge (informally known as the “old bridge”). Planned as a residential area, the tender for the landfill and embankment in Zone D was launched in May 2019, involving an estimated cost of 1.53 billion patacas and a maximum construction period of 1,350 working days.
According to previous news reports, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said in 2020 that the local government has decided to cancel its Zone D land reclamation project, but to reclaim land in the waters between the north-eastern coast of the peninsula and the Zone A land reclamation area for a city park. However, the local government’s decision was eventually not approved by the central government in Beijing.
According to the bureau, the total landfill volume in Zone D is estimated to be about seven million cubic metres, including backfilling of natural sand and inert materials. It added that priority will be given to the use of soft subsoil as reclamation material in order to achieve reuse of resources, and to reduce the cost of purchasing natural sand instead of procuring sand for reclamation by the contractors, thereby reducing the risk of possible supply uncertainty.
This image taken from the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) website shows the government’s plan of its Zone D land reclamation project.
