Bad taste, walled beach

The endless construction works at Hac Sa beach seem to be near completion. It’s been years since the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) started ravaging the beach, cutting down old trees and building a huge wall along the shore, covering most of the stretch of sand.
IACM justifies the works due to the heavy damage caused by Typhoon Hagupit in September 2008. In the aftermath of the storm, the institute decided to build a wall which is supposed to help retain seawater to avoid damage during typhoon season. Certain parts of the wall are as high as two meters. Figures released last year indicate that the construction was budgeted at around MOP20 million.
The building of a wall to protect the “Hellen Garden” neighborhood is questionable but understandable. But the high-rise buildings that unfortunately were built so close to the sea are located at one end of the beach. If a wall was to be built, it should only cover that area and not the central part of the beach.
Recently IACM cleaned part of the construction waste, and we can now see the result of the works that obstructed the beach views for such a long time. It’s useless (what’s there to protect behind the beach in the unlikely case the sea advances during a storm?) and awfully ugly. They built a concrete wall all along the seashore without any consideration for the natural landscape. It’s a pity that the only large beach in Macau has been treated this way.
Only in poor areas (like in some parts of the Philippines and Brazil) and in neighboring Hong Kong (go to Cheung Chau and check for yourself) have I seen the coastline being so despised.

 

Many questions arise. For example, why is the government wasting so many millions paying a contractor to carry out such a project? Not to mention the disturbance caused by the construction works. Despite having said that the development would performed in phases in order to minimize “the disturbance caused to residents and tourists” (see the full report on this on this webpage: http://www.jtm.com.mo/view.asp?dT=378703001), the machines were particularly active during the summertime.
What’s more, there was even a serious accident that affected an eight-year-old boy. In the beginning of September, Thomas Lawson was walking on the beach when he stepped on a metal rod hidden in the sand. The boy was impaled on the pole as it went through his foot and into his leg. He was rushed to San Januário Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
The young man is still recovering from his injuries. His family argues that the metal rod was part of the waste material left behind on the beach after the demolition of the old structures whilst the new seawall was being erected at Hac Sa. According to Thomas’ father, Keith Lawson, the day after the accident “the area was ‘roped off’ by either the police or the IACM,” and the waste material on the beach was removed. In a report published by the Times, Mr Lawson said he planed to take advice from a lawyer on the legal issues and responsibility involved in this case. “The government must do something about it so that no one else is hurt”, he mentioned. In fact the authority should also be first in line to defend the natural landscape and uphold good taste and professionalism.

(my column in MDT)