The Macau government is to launch 93 public works projects this year at a cost of 5.1 billion patacas (USD646 million). The aim is to create new jobs locally and mitigate the effects of regional recession in the gaming and manufacturing sectors.
The 93 schemes announced so far are small and medium scale projects. Twelve are already under way after contracts were awarded under a public bidding process enforced in the aftermath of the Ao Man Long corruption trial last year. The first dozen schemes are expected to create 9,000 jobs, according to the Public Works and Transport Bureau.
The public works projects include street decoration, government building renovation, and the construction of public residential buildings.
The government will also speed up the process of launching 11 large scale infrastructure projects. The bid phase is due to be completed in the first half of this year.
According to the latest statistics, Macau’s unemployment rate for the period of September to November 2008 was 3.3 percent, up by 0.2 percentage points over the previous period.
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