Letters | Macau heritage status at risk as Nam Van building plans ignore public objection

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Penha Hill in Macau is a popular spot for wedding photography. The unblocked views between Macau’s historic centre and the sea, including of Penha Hill, are an important part of the former Portuguese colony’s Unesco World Heritage status. Photo: Robert Ng

Published: 7:00am, 10 Jan 2021Updated: 7:00am, 10 Jan 2021

Public consultations can serve as a channel for collecting popular opinion. But whether the government accepts the views of the governed is another matter (“No need to turn to courts if government accepted feedback”, January 7). Where there is no sense of solicitude for people’s welfare, there is no significance to public consultation.

A summary of the consultation report on the landscape viewing corridors between Penha Hill and the Macau-Taipa Bridge along with the New Urban Zone revealed that more than half of those consulted supported the height restrictions for buildings within the corridors. Yet the planning drafts recently published by the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau for the two Nam Van Lake sites have asked for the height restrictions to be relaxed, and these were approved on Thursday by urban planning officials. This project would irreversibly destroy the unique historical and cultural landscape of Macau.

The views between Penha Hill and the old bridge will be blocked, indeed, in violation of the rules governing Macau’s Unesco World Heritage status.

Many people in Macau are very concerned about the preservation of its World Heritage status and often exhort the government to limit the height of the buildings constructed on reclaimed land recently taken back from the conglomerates. Most hope that a part of the reclaimed territory will be developed into a park for both residents and tourists to enjoy.

Since he assumed office in 2019, Mr Ho Iat-Seng has been held in high esteem for his administration’s policies, in particular in containing the coronavirus, with only 46 cases recorded and no deaths so far. If Chief Executive Ho respects mainstream public opinion and preserves the Penha landscape, he will only add to his popularity with Macau residents.