MACAU BUSINESS
the 2013 guidelines, the Administration reiterated it would pave the way for relevant legislation, including a qualification scheme for manpower in the sector. Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo Arrais do Rosário said last May that the draft bill would be completed last year. The land and public works bureau said in a
statement that the first draft of the bill has been completed and that it is now consulting with the industry concerning the maintenance and examination of lifts and escalators, requirements for persons undertaking the works, and relevant penalties. “Most elevators in Macau have been
registered with the authorities once,” the Bureau said. The annual examination is not mandatory but voluntary now, as is the display of safety certificates in lifts and escalators, requiring co-operation from residents and the industry, it added. “If the owner[s] of any elevators find a lack of safety certificates about their equipment, they should urge the maintenance company they have commissioned to register [the equipment] with the authorities,” the statement added.
Staff shortage The legislation itself, however, cannot resolve all the safety problems amid the deprived manpower in the city. According to the Macau Elevator and Escalator Employees Association, an affiliate of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, the city’s largest labour group, there are fewer than 10 certified elevator and escalator engineers and just 100 local staff for maintenance. “There are more non-resident workers
SUSPICIOUS GAMING TRANSACTIONS UP The number of suspicious transaction reports in the city increased 32.9 per cent year-on- year for the whole of 2017, totalling 3,085 reports vis-a-vis 2,321 in
involved in the maintenance work now but they might not have as much expertise as the local staff and their practices might not live up to the established standards,” said Ieong Wa Meng, vice-president of the Association, adding most local staff working in the industry are aged between 50 and 60. “Macau is not the only place with this
problem, so do other neighbouring regions, where few youngsters opt for this career path,” he noted. “But this has to be tackled soon:
“
Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau [which drafted the elevator guideline] have in-depth knowledge in the area?” With over 3,800 residential, commercial and industrial buildings aged 30 years or more in the city, the authorities have launched three schemes to provide financial support in terms of subsidies and loans for the maintenance of the premises. According to the Housing Bureau, the three schemes had provided over MOP29 million in 195 cases
The costs of repairing and replacing elevators are not cheap, which might deter the owners’ committees and property management companies from doing anything when they find safety problems,
SAY S LEGISL ATOR LEONG SUN IOK
when the annual examination and maintenance of lifts and escalators becomes mandatory, will there be enough manpower to carry out the work?”
Financial support Echoing the call of legislator Wu, Ieong thinks the city could set up a public body specifically in charge of elevators and escalators, similar to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department in Hong Kong. “Needless to say, sometimes when we
replace an elevator in a building we don’t know whether we have to contact the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Housing Bureau, Macao Government Tourist Office, or all,” he said. “And how many people in the
2016, revealed the Financial Intelligence Office (GIF). The number of suspicious transaction reports received from the gaming sector during the period under review comprised 2,074 or 67.2 per cent of the total, representing an
”
with regard to the examination and maintenance of elevators as of last July. Legislator Leong Sun Iok believes the
government could do more based upon the three schemes, cautioning: “The costs for repairing and replacing elevators are not cheap, which might deter the owners’ committees and property management companies from doing anything when they find safety problems.”
“While legislation on mandatory
examination and maintenance could help detect the safety problems…the government could also put forward a new [financial] scheme, encouraging owners of old buildings to replace their dilapidated elevators to prevent any accidents,” he concluded.
increase of 34.15 per cent when compared to 2016 at 1,546
REVENUES STILL RISING Fitch Ratings informed in a release it predicts that Macau’s gross gaming revenues will increase 13
per cent year-on-year in 2018, which would represent a total of MOP300.28 billion (US$37.26 billion). Last year saw a 19.1 per cent yearly increase in local gross gaming revenues to reach MOP265.74 billion.
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