Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) President Chao Wai Ieng stressed yesterday that the new Government Service Centre in Areia Preta will be located in a government-owned social housing complex so there is no longer the need to pay around 20 million patacas in rent per year.
The social housing estate stands on plot of land previously occupied by a power station of electricity utility CEM.
Chao made the remarks during a press conference which was also attended by Social Security Fund (FSS) President Chan Pou Wan, Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) Deputy Director Lou Soi Cheong, Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) Deputy Director Chan Chi Kin, Identification Services Bureau (DSI) Deputy Director Chan Un Lai, Public Security Police (PSP) Deputy Commissioner Ng Sou Peng, and Financial Services Bureau (DSF) Acting Deputy Director Kuok Iat Hoi.
The one-hour press conference was held at the current Government Service Centre on Rua Nova da Areia Preta in Areia Preta district.
Chao said that the current service centre, which commenced operations in 2009, has recorded over 10 million users in the past 16 years. The centre provides residents with more than a hundred “essential services”, such as the issuing of proof-of-life certificates, processing of the government’s wealth-sharing scheme, social security matters, and ID card processing.
In order to offer more convenient and high-quality public services to residents, the service centre will be relocated from Rua Nova da Areia Preta (黑沙環新街) to Avenida de Venceslau de Morais (慕拉士大馬路), where it will start operating on Monday, October 6.
According to a IAM statement, the new service centre will be equipped with 57 counters, providing more than 300 services from 24 public entities. The services cover a wide range of areas, including identity documentation, public works and commercial registry procedures, “comprehensive” municipal and social affairs, social security matters, as well as a range of other kinds of registration, taxation, residency and stay-permit affairs, the statement said.
The statement pointed that through the “Macao One Account” app, appointments and queue tickets can be arranged digitally, but residents can also get various kinds of tickets in person at the centre. Besides, residents can enter their smartphone number at the centre’s ticketing kiosks to receive an e-ticket number and queue updates via SMS.
In order to further enhance self-service and cross-border services, the statement underlined, the centre has expanded the government’s 24-hour self-service centre, providing over 50 self-service options from various government entities. Additionally, a new “Cross-Border Self-Service Area” will be available on the centre’s new premises, providing convenience for residents and businesses to handle more than 200 frequently used services, including retirement, employment, taxation, transportation, and housing-related matters.
In order to enhance the user experience, the statement stressed, the service centre is designed in soft colours with open spaces, aiming to shorten the distance between service staff and the public, and facilities such as waiting and rest areas, a self-service photocopying area, parent-child public toilets and a nursing room have also been added. After relocation to its new location, the office hours, telephone and fax numbers, website and email address of the Government Services Centre will remain unchanged, the statement said.
According to the statement, the service centre will open next Monday at 12 noon for business. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, a public holiday, next Tuesday, the new centre’s operating times will remain unchanged, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Monday and. Friday. It will be closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.
Meanwhile, the current Government Service Centre on Rua Nova da Areia Preta will close on Friday at 6 p.m. for good.
Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) President Chao Wai Ieng looks on during yesterday’s press conference at the current Government Service Centre in Areia Preta district. – Photos: Armindo Neves
Vehicles drive past the new Government Services Centre, scheduled to open next Monday, on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais (慕拉士大馬路) yesterday.
