The government announced yesterday that it will launch a survey next Wednesday into the conditions of 292 buildings in the neighbourhood colloquially known in Cantonese as “Laahn Gwai Lau” (爛鬼樓 – “Dilapidated Ghost Building”).
The area is located in the old quarters of the city centre.
The survey aims to systematically collect baseline data on the state of maintenance of the buildings, including their external condition, and facilities and structural components in their internal common areas.
The upcoming building-condition survey, one of the government’s various urban renewal initiatives, was first revealed during a meeting early last month to brief association representatives about Macau’s 3rd Five-Year Plan regarding the government’s transport and public works portfolio.
The Macau government announced and published the final version of the 3rd Five-Year Plan in August.
The Macao Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) 3rd Five-Year Plan, officially known as the 3rd Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, covers the period between 2026 and 2030.
During last month’s meeting, the government said that it was planning to start conducting a citywide survey of the conditions of old district buildings in a gradual manner in the fourth quarter of this year, with the Laahn Gwai Lau area as a pilot zone.
Details of the pilot survey for the Laahn Gwai Lau neighbourhood were announced by the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) in a statement yesterday.
Yesterday’s statement noted that the first phase of the citywide survey, which will start next Wednesday, will be conducted in the area surrounded by Rua de Nossa Senhora do Amparo (關前後街), Rua da Tercena (果欄街), Rua do Infante (皇子街), Rua de Cinco de Outubro (十月初五日街), and Rua das Estalagens (草堆街), covering a total of 292 buildings.
The area covered by the survey’s first phase is colloquially known in Cantonese as Laahn Gwai Lau.
The survey area will be divided into three zones, which will be surveyed respectively by three architectural consultancies hired by the bureau.
The bureau has set up a dedicated website (https://www.dsscu.gov.mo/edfcenso/zh) providing further details about the survey, according to which the survey in the three zones will be conducted from next Wednesday through December 24, January 3, and February 2 next year, lasting 51, 61, and 91 days respectively.
Yesterday’s statement said that surveyors from the hired consultancies will visit the site every day during daytime hours to inspect building façades and internal common areas, including entrance halls, stairwells, corridors, rooftops, and water/electricity meter rooms. Through on-site inspections and photographic records, they will gather and log data concerning the condition of building structural components, water and electricity supply facilities, and environmental hygiene, the statement said.
The statement underlined that following an evaluation of the experience gained from the upcoming pilot work, the survey will be gradually extended to other districts in the city, prioritising older districts. The collected building condition data will serve as a reference for the government to advance its urban renewal initiatives, the statement said.
The statement said that to facilitate identification by residents, survey staff carrying out their duties will wear an official badge and a specific work vest. Survey personnel will strictly confine their activities to the common areas of the buildings and will not enter any private units under any circumstances.
The statement reminded residents that neither the bureau nor the architectural consultancies will charge any fees, request personal identification data, bank account details, or passwords, nor will they send notifications or hyperlink requests via SMS, email, or other channels.
All collected data will be used exclusively for government statistical and analytical purposes, and any information involving privacy will be handled in strict compliance with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Law, the statement said.
A pedestrian walks along Travessa do Armazém Velho (爛鬼樓巷), an alley in the “Laahn Gwai Lau” (爛鬼樓) neighbourhood, yesterday. – Photo: Tony Wong
