The government said yesterday that it is planning to add 40 new cameras to the police forces’ citywide CCTV surveillance system in the near future, raising the total number of cameras in the network to 1,751 by the end of this year.
Unitary Police Service (SPU) Acting Assistant Commissioner-General Lei Iat Meng made the remarks when attending a current affairs phone-in programme hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi, the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM.
Yesterday’s programme reviewed the government’s 2026 work regarding its security portfolio.
Currently, the citywide CCTV surveillance system has a total of 1,711 cameras.
Over the past decade, the government has been expanding the citywide CCTV surveillance network in phases. A total of 1,620 cameras were installed in the first four phases.
The 219 cameras in the first phase, which came into operation in September 2016, are located in the areas around the city’s border checkpoints.
The second and third phases came into use at the same time in June 2018. The 263 cameras in the second phase are located at major roads and transport hubs, while the 338 cameras in the third phase are located at so-called security black spots and tourist attractions.
The 800 cameras in the fourth phase, which came into operation in August 2020, are located in quiet places as well as places with potential security hazards.
In the fifth phase, 81 cameras were newly installed across the city, which came into use in March 2023. Moreover, 10 cameras in the Zone A new urban area came into use at the end of last year, raising the total number of cameras in the system to 1,711.
The 1.38-square-kilometre Zone A, a new land reclamation area primarily being developed for public housing projects, is located between the peninsula’s northeastern coast and the man-made island where the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Macau checkpoint is located.
During yesterday’s phone-in programme, Lei noted that the government is currently advancing the sixth phase of the citywide CCTV surveillance system, adding that it is planning to install 40 new cameras in the near future, raising the total number of cameras in the network to 1,751 by the end of this year.
Lei also said that the government was planning to install 680 new cameras next year, including locations around various new facilities such as the Mong Son social rental housing estate on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais (慕拉士大馬路), the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Barra Station, and the Macao Union Hospital in south Cotai.
Macao One Account’s new function to check border crossing records
Meanwhile, during yesterday’s phone-in programme, Public Security Police Force (PSP) Acting Deputy Commissioner Wong Kim Hong said that the government was planning to launch a new function in the Macao One Account app in the first quarter of next year allowing residents to check their border crossing records, with the aim of enabling them to more easily calculate the number of days they have stayed in Macau in a year.
Certain government programmes require their beneficiaries to meet stay-in-Macau minimum-day requirements, such as wealth-sharing cash handouts and Central Provident Fund cash injections.
Both programmes require beneficiaries to stay in Macau for at least 183 days in a year. Those not staying in Macau due to any of various formally defined reasons can apply for exemptions from the minimum stay requirement.
Meanwhile, during yesterday’s phone-in programme, Macao Customs Service Assistant Director-General Ip Wa Chio said that between January and September this year, customs officers seized a total of 3.2 million smuggled cigarettes, representing a year-on-year increase of 360 percent. During the period, customs and the Health Bureau (SSM) conducted six joint operations in the city, uncovering seven illegal cases and seizing 31,000 duty-unpaid cigarettes, he said.
This photo taken yesterday shows a camera of the police forces’ citywide CCTV surveillance system on Rua Central (龍嵩正街). – Photo: Tony Wong
