China Acts To Protect Guia Lighthouse
By Sue Clark on Apr 18, 2008 in News 
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Development Limited
The World Heritage listed Guia Lighthouse will not have to bow to developers after all. In recent news out of China, the UNESCO protected site will not fall prey to developers seeking to build high rise housing units around the lighthouse and fort, and instead will be forced to limit the heights based on their locations from the historic beacon. Buildings in the 1,400 meter (about 4600 feet) area just under the Guia lighthouse that goes from the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf to the Tap Seac Square will be subject to a new height limit under the new government regulations, director of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Jaime Carion, said. The buffer zone was also extended, from 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) to 2.8 meters (9 feet) and is described as a cone-like shape, wtih varying heights allowed.
“We need to find a way to balance the city’s development with its cultural heritage sites,” Carion said, adding that if the government were not to take any action, it would soon “pay the price” for failing to protect Macau’s cultural heritage sites, which are listed in the UNESCO world heritage sites.
Not Enough To Protect the View
The lighthouse is the first Western style lighthouse in East Asia or the China coast and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Cultural site. The Macau government has proposed a 90 meter (295 feet) height limit at the foot of the hill, but one lawmaker said it was “not enough.”
A building with a height of 90 meters can still block the view of the heritage site, said Ng Kuo Cheong, urging the authorities to lay out detailed urban planning concerning the hill’s surrounding areas for the immediate future, and arrange public consultations on the matter.
The other heights in the “cone area” will be limited from a maximum of 52.5 meters at the foot of the Guia Hill, to 47.8 meters, 42.5 meters, 31.7 meters, 26.4 meters, 21 meters, 15.7 meters, 10.8 and 5 meters for seafront constructions in these perimeters.
The Special Administrative Region (SAR) government of Macau had previously admitted that a letter had been received by China’s State Bureau of Cultural Relics from the Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Center, Francisco Bandarin, expressing concern that the view of the lighthouse (still operational) will be impeded if construction projects were allowed to proceed.
This was followed by months of debate on whether or not to comply. Macao’s Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, claims the government gives priority to protecting the city’s world heritage sites and environment and that when it comes to public affairs, people’s voices will always be listened to.
Photo credit: Guia Lighthouse by Georgio. Some rights reserved.
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