The government has launched a public tender for a construction project to significantly expand the Seac Pai Van Reservoir’s water storage capacity while also extending the current recreational area running along part of the reservoir to a revamped one running all around it.
The project will also include the installation of a solar power system, with floating solar panels to be placed on a part of the reservoir and the electricity generated to be supplied to the adjacent Seac Pai Van Water Treatment Plant.
The tender was announced in a notice published by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
According to the notice, potential bidders are required to submit their quotations by August 18. The bureau will unseal the submitted bids the next day.
The winning bidder will be required to complete the project within 655 working days.
The bureau also published details of the project on its website yesterday.
The Seac Pai Van Reservoir is located between the large Macao Union Hospital complex in south Cotai and Coloane’s sprawling Seac Pai Van public housing neighbourhood.
The reservoir’s current recreational area only runs along its east and north sides, with facilities such as a cycling trail, a walking/jogging path, a children’s playground, and fitness equipment. The recreational area, officially known as Seac Pai Van Urban Park, came into use in October 2021.
The recreational area enables pedestrians to walk between the Macao Union Hospital complex and the Seac Pai Van public housing community.
The Seac Pai Van Water Treatment Plant is located just next to the reservoir’s east-side recreational area.
The Seac Pai Van Reservoir is one of the city’s three reservoirs, while its adjacent water treatment plant is one of the city’s four plants, operated by the city’s water utility Macao Water.
The Seac Pai Van Reservoir’s west side runs along the southernmost section of Estrada do Istmo, a main thoroughfare in central Cotai connecting Taipa and Coloane, with its northern section informally known as Cotai Strip with casino-hotel resorts on both sides of the road.
According to the DSOP website, the project will increase the reservoir’s water storage capacity from the current 300,000 cubic metres to 780,000 cubic metres, through reservoir dredging and the construction of vertical retaining walls along the reservoir’s west and south sides.
With the aim of enhancing the reservoir’s impermeability and reducing water loss, the website says, a waterproof barrier will be built inside the reservoir.
In addition to expanding the reservoir’s water storage capacity, the website says, the project will also convert the reservoir’s west and south sides into a recreational area, including facilities such as a cycling trail and a walking/jogging path. After the project’s completion, the recreational area will run all around the reservoir, with the cycling trail’s total length to increase to 1,415 metres, while the walking/jogging path will be 1,160 metres in total.
Moreover, the website says, the project is to also install a solar photovoltaic power generation system, with its floating solar panels to cover about 10 percent of the reservoir’s area. The electricity generated will be supplied to the adjacent water treatment plant for its operation.
The two images downloaded from the Public Works Bureau’s (DSOP) website yesterday shows the artist’s rendition and map of the extended recreational area along the Seac Pai Van Reservoir, with the latter indicating the floating solar panels on the reservoir.
