Mid-year start of Seac Pai Van plant project: Macao Water

Macao Water Executive Director Nacky Kuan Sio Peng said yesterday that construction of the Seac Pai Van water treatment plant was slated to start in the middle of this year, adding that the facility was slated to be operational in 2019.Kuan made the remarks while speaking to reporters prior to the water supply company’s Spring Festival media luncheon at Galaxy’s JW Mariott Hotel in Cotai.Kuan said that the Seac Pai Van plant would raise Macau’s water supply from the current 390,000 cubic

February 16, 2017 | BY admin

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IMF raises Macau 2017 GDP growth forecast to 2.8 pct

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast about Macau’s 2017 GDP growth rate for this year to 2.8 percent from its previous forecast of 0.2 percent, after concluding the 2016 Article IV Consultation with the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) said in a statement yesterday.The financial regulator said in the statement that the fund based in Washington, DC, commended Macau’s “strong” financial system, and “remarkable”

February 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Legend Palace to get 15 more gaming tables: Leong

The Legend Palace Hotel will be granted 15 additional gaming tables for its mass-market area and 91 additional slot machines, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday.Leong made the remarks on the sidelines of yesterday’s Forum on Macau Integrated Tourism & Leisure Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility” held by the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) at Wynn Macau. Leong said the government had finished evaluating the hotel’s application for

February 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Chui appoints new culture chief

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On has appointed Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) Vice President Leung Hio Ming as the bureau’s president for a two-year term, effective from tomorrow, according to yesterday’s Official Gazette (BO).Leung is to succeed Guilherme Ung Vai Meng who will retire tomorrow.The bureau has two vice-presidents, with the other being Chan Peng Fai.PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN OUR PRINT EDITION.

February 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Election committee to meet govt entities

The Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee will have meetings with various government entities to discuss their working plans during the direct and indirect Legislative Assembly (AL) elections and their two-week campaign period, Tong Hio Fong, who heads the committee, said yesterday.The elections are slated to be held in September.Speaking to reporters after the committee’s second meeting, at the Public Administration Building in Rua do Campo, Tong said the committee would meet the

February 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Woman nabbed for wedding banquet scam

The owner of a wedding planning company allegedly involved in a fraud case in which at least 50 victims lost about 7 million patacas, was arrested on Monday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said yesterday during a special briefing.According to Lei, the local suspect, surnamed Chan, is 34 years old.The victims told the police that they met Chan on a mobile app. Chan told them that she owns a wedding planning company.Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded wedding banquet

February 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt urges eatery to improve hygiene after diners sicken

Six people fell ill with gastroenteritis after consuming food at a restaurant in Nam Van, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) Food Safety Centre said yesterday, urging the restaurant staff to take basic courses to raise their knowledge of food hygiene.The statement said that eight people dined at “Seek Your Choice Bistro” in the evening of February 11 and six of them suffered abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting in the early hours of February 13.According to the statement, after

February 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Police trial reveals ‘systemic loophole’: judge

Witness testimony in a trial involving six police officers has revealed what the presiding judge yesterday called a “systemic loophole” in the Public Security Police (PSP) Intelligence Department.Judge Chao Im Peng made the criticism during the second hearing of the trial at the Court of First Instance (TJB).The six PSP officers were arrested in January last year on suspicion of abetting the illegal activities of a loan-sharking gang by leaking confidential police information, abetting

February 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Lawmaker urges govt to insist on full casino smoking ban

Lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I yesterday urged the government to keep its pledge on the ultimate aim of a blanket ban on smoking in all gaming areas of casinos.Lei made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year media luncheon hosted by the Legislative Assembly (AL) at Macau Tower.Recent research conducted by the University of Macau (UM) show that 60 percent of Macau’s casino workers think a full smoking ban in casinos would have a positive impact

February 15, 2017 | BY admin

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São Tiago hotel to close temporarily

Pousada de São Tiago in Avenida da República will temporarily close from March 31 and remain closed until the construction of the Barra Transport Complex is completed, SJM Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer Angela Leong On Kei said yesterday.The government’s Barra Transport Complex is planned to include the peninsula’s light rail transit (LRT) link with the LRT section in Taipa and Coloane slated to open in 2019.The five-star hotel was formerly the Fortress of São Tiago

February 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Speaker confident all bills to be voted on before end of term

Legislative Assembly (AL) President Ho Iat Seng said yesterday he was confident that the bills which are being reviewed in the legislature’s standing committees can be resubmitted to the legislature’s plenum for their final article-by-article votes, by the time the legislature completes its current term later this year.The city’s top lawmaker also said that if the business sector supports him to run in the upcoming indirect legislative election, he will stand for re-election.Ho, an

February 15, 2017 | BY admin

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60 pct of casino workers back smoking lounges

Research findings show that 60 percent of Macau’s casino workers think that a full smoking ban in casinos would have a positive impact on them, but when given options, only 40 percent chose a full smoking ban whereas 60 percent preferred the retention of smoking lounges, University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Business Administration Associate Professor Desmond Lam Chee Shiong said yesterday.Among the 60 percent who preferred the retention of smoking lounges, 47 percent opted for improved air

February 14, 2017 | BY admin

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Police nab suspected robbers

The Judiciary Police (PJ) have arrested two men from the mainland on suspicion of robbing a male compatriot of his mobile phone, PJ spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said during a special press conference yesterday.Lei identified the two suspects as surnamed Rao, aged 29, and Li, aged 32.Lei said that last Tuesday, the victim was sitting in Nam Van after gambling in a casino nearby. Rao went up to the victim and asked him whether he would like to borrow some money to gamble with.Judiciary Police (PJ)

February 14, 2017 | BY admin

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Relaying of cable is ‘isolated case’: CEM

CEM Customer Liaison Committee Vice President Iun Iok Meng yesterday described the relaying of the underground high-voltage cable connecting the power utility’s substation in Ilha Verde to its substation in Cotai only five years after the cable was first laid, which was designed to last 30 years, as an “isolated case”.Local think tank Macau Synergy Association held a press conference about the issue last week, urging the government and CEM to explain why the cable needed to be relayed.The

February 14, 2017 | BY admin

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