The government said yesterday that the ongoing cleaning of sewer pipes under the site of the newly completed temporary housing project on Plot P in Areia Preta district has been identified as one of the sources of the ongoing stench affecting the neighbourhood near the peninsula’s northern waterfront.
The government has meanwhile ordered the cleaning contractor to implement special measures to remedy the situation.
Yesterday’s government announcement also underlined that the waterfront stench, which has affected the area for months, is not directly caused by the ongoing Light Rapid Transit (LRT) East Line project off the coast, pointing out that the LRT East Line project also includes various special measures to mitigate the stench, as well as the installation of new facilities to more effectively intercept wastewater discharged into the coastal waters, a project slated to get off the ground this year.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) and the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) elaborated on the issue in a joint statement issued yesterday evening.
A section of the underwater LRT East Line project is being carried out off the peninsula’s northern coast east of the Barrier Gate checkpoint, i.e., off the waterfront Avenida Norte do Hipódromo (馬場北大馬路) and Avenida da Ponte da Amizade (友誼橋大馬路). The project, which got off the ground in 2023, includes the land reclamation of the mudflats (aka tidal flats) off the coast.
Yesterday’s statement underlined that the relevant public entities have been closely working together to implement all necessary measures with the aim of reducing the reek affecting the neighbourhood near the coastal Avenida Norte do Hipódromo as well as near the government’s high-rise rental residential building for senior citizens on Plot P.
Plot P is a large plot near the peninsula’s northern coast, where the rental residential building for seniors is located and where the government’s temporary housing project was completed at the end of last year. The newly completed temporary housing estate comprising eight towers is earmarked for property owners affected by urban renewal projects to rent temporarily during the redevelopment of their former homes.
The statement said that in response to the stench besetting the area, DSPA and DSOP officials as well as those from the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) and the government-owned Macau Urban Renewal Limited have jointly been carrying out on-site investigations, after which they have now identified one of the sources of the foul odour, according to which, the statement said, the ongoing cleaning work of sewer pipes under the site of the newly completed temporary housing project on Plot P has caused the stench emanating from the pipes.
The statement underlined that the government has ordered the cleaning contractor to implement effective measures to tackle the issue, such as by taking improved sealing measures during the cleaning process and installing activated carbon filters at the exhaust outlets.
The statement also said that the sewer cleaning work is expected to be completed by the end of this week.
Moreover, the statement said that while the current waterfront stench is not directly caused by the ongoing LRT East Line project off the peninsula’s northern coast, the government has told its contractor to implement various special measures to mitigate the stench caused by wastewater still being discharged into the coastal waters.
The statement also pointed out that the Environmental Protection Bureau completed a sewage interception project off the coast in 2019 collecting wastewater at three rainwater drain outlets there and diverting the collected wastewater to the nearby Macau Peninsula Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The statement said that concerning wastewater still being discharged untreated into the coastal waters from two other rainwater drain outlets there, the ongoing LRT East Line project will also include the installation of sewage interception facilities, which in the future will intercept wastewater discharged from the two outlets.
Yesterday’s statement reaffirmed that the new sewage project, which will include the installation of box culverts and sewage pumping facilities, to be carried out in the LRT East Line project’s mudflat-reclamation area, is still being designed, adding that the design is scheduled to be completed this year after which the project can start.
The statement also said that officials from the relevant public entities, including DSPA and DSOP officials, yesterday briefed community association representatives on site about the sources of the reek and the government’s measures to tackle the issue.
Public Works Bureau (DSOP) Director Lam Wai Hou (centre) briefs community association representatives yesterday about the stench issue, next to the site of the ongoing Light Rapid Transit (LRT) East Line project at the peninsula’s northern coast. – Photo: DSOP/DSPA
