94 Macau property
Safe as houses
It’s all academic now as the remains left of the former
Mong-ha Military Quarter are no more, but was
the government right to pull them down?
O
fficialS decided to demolish Quarters on Francisco Xavier Pereira In February of this year, the Hous-
the remains of the historic Mong- Street had been requested from the Cul- ing Institute (IH) published the “Text for
Ha Military Quarters because tural Institute. Public Consultation on the House Rent-
they were a risk to public safety - despite “It was verified that there was no ing Scheme for Newly-Wed Couples”,
a vociferous campaign to save them. process or historic information in their which states: “At the old Mong-Ha mili-
To the consternation of some, the ex- archives on these buildings, it also con- tary base, an area of about 2,244 square-
planation wasn’t made public until four firmed that neither the buildings nor the metres will be used to construct a hous-
days after the former military base had land were considered buffer zones,’’ the ing area’’. The document only says the
been destroyed, raising questions over DSSOPT said. apartments will be T2, but doesn’t men-
the whether the historic value of the site It was at this stage, the DSSOPT tion the number of blocks.
had been properly investigated. says, that for the safety of the residents,
Officials say another reason for the officials decided to reserve the land for high culture
demolition was the neccessity to create the construction of economic housing for
jobs and build more public housing at a newly-weds. Those who opposed the move see the
time of global financial meltdown. “For the construction of the necessary now-demolished site as a military build-
“Problems detected lately in the public housing, the administration decided ing with high cultural value. They argue
foundations of the former Mong-Ha Mili- to develop the land where the Mong-Ha that the site is rich in characteristics typi-
tary Quarter brought the imminent dan- Military Quarters were sited. Before fol- cal of south European architecture and of
ger of collapse, which in turn would risk lowing this option, the administration the modernism of the 1920s.
the safety of the lives and property of the sought a more rigorous assertion that these Another factor taken into account
population and neighbouring residents. It were not on the list of classified heritage by the government when reaching its
was therefore decided by the Administra- through reinforced the dialogue with the decision was the impact of storms on an
tion to start work to level the site, in order Cultural Institute,’’ the staement added. area of the rocky hill which they say pre-
to guarantee public safety,’’ the govern- sented an “imminent danger of collapse”,
ment said in a statement. Without merit putting at risk public safety.
The wider economic picture also in-
historic assessment The executive also refutes rumours fluenced officials: “Taking into account
that the building complex dated back to the impact of the global economic crisis
The Lands, Public Works and Trans- 1920s or 1930s as there are no historical in Macau, the administration needs to
portation Services Department (DS- records to back the claims up. The demo- create more jobs by stepping up the ap-
SOPT) said that a full assessment on the lition has been denounced by the Guia proval process for the construction of
historic and architectural value of the Lighthouse Protection Group. public housing,’’ the government said.
december 2008
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