Macao spends 4 billion patacas to build a livable city

On December 9, the Macao SAR government's Environmental Protection Bureau disclosed that in order to make Macao into a green and livable city, the SAR government had spent nearly 4 billion patacas on environmentally-friendly infrastructure, ecological conservation facilities and maintenance of relevant infrastructure and facilities since its establishment 10 years ago.

The bureau was set up early this year. It has consolidated authority over all the environmentally-friendly infrastructure and ecological conservation facilities, which were previously under the authority of many different government departments, a move which has greatly improved the Macao SAR government's overall coordination abilities in regards to environmental protection.

A garbage incineration center has been playing a very important role in Macao, where land is a rare and precious resource. In 2008, when the construction of a new garbage incineration plant was completed, the garbage disposal capacity of the incineration center doubled to 1,700 metric tons. Meanwhile, the center also utilizes the heat produced by the incinerators to generate electricity, enough to meet the needs of 33,000 households.

According to the Macao SAR government’s Environmental Protection Bureau, after being incinerated, the size of a certain waste object is on average reduced by 90 percent. Macao's garbage incineration center was put into operation in 1992. Since then, it has disposed of more than 4 million tons of waste. If all that garbage was piled up, it would cover half of the Macao Peninsula.

Macao currently has 5 sewage treatment plants. The environmental protection bureau will upgrade relevant sewage treatment equipment in an orderly way, making preparations for the widespread use of treated water in Macao.

In order to promote biodiversity in Macao, in 2001, the Macao SAR government decided to build Macao's first ecological conservation zone, the Taipa-Coloane Reclamation Area. Currently, the first and second phases of the project have been completed. Rich biotic resources and food have attracted 122 kinds of resident and migrant birds including the black-faced spoonbill. In December 2008, a total of 53 black-faced spoonbills were found at the zone, accounting for 2.5 percent of the world’s total of the species.

Macao's environmental protection bureau stated that all the residents of Macao should participate in environmental protection work. The Macao SAR government will continue its efforts to increase all residents' awareness of the importance of environmental protection and encourage resource conservation, saving energy, the reduction of emissions and waste, and garbage sorting, all in an attempt to achieve a green way of life.

Translated by LOTO