The government is proposing to earmark an undeveloped plot, which is located between the Jai Alai casino-hotel complex and Casa Real Hotel in Zape, for government facilities, according to the proposed legal development conditions for the plot published by the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) yesterday.
After the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau has drafted the legal development conditions for particular plots, for both public and private projects, they will then be uploaded to its website for residents to submit their opinions and suggestions. After collecting residents’ opinions and suggestions, the legal development conditions will then be discussed in a regular meeting of the Urban Planning Council (CPU) – a consultative body tasked with advising the government on its urban planning policies.
The proposed legal development conditions for the plot in Zape were uploaded to the bureau’s website yesterday for residents to submit opinions and suggestions by May 24.
According to the Official Gazette (BO), the government announced the annulment of the plot’s land concession in August 2019, as the leaseholder had failed to develop the plot listed in the concession agreement within the contractual period.
According to the gazette, the plot, the concession of which was granted in 1997, was initially slated for a residential-cum-commercial project – consisting of two 22-storey towers.
The government repossessed the plot in March 2021.
According to the legal development conditions, the government proposes a construction height limit of 52.5 metres on the plot, which covers an area of 2,782 square metres.
The government proposes that the building’s carpark on the plot will be equipped with charging facilities for e-cars sufficient for all parking spaces there.
‘Sandwich-class’ housing near airport
Meanwhile, the bureau yesterday also published the proposed legal development conditions for the plot at the bottom of Big Taipa Hill in Avenida Wai Long, the plot of the ill-fated La Scala luxury housing project near the airport, which is now earmarked for the government’s first “sandwich-class” housing project.
The plot was initially earmarked for the government’s subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) housing project. However, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced in August last year that the government had decided to build a sandwich-class housing project on the plot instead.
The government’s plan to build housing projects for the city’s “sandwich class” was first proposed by Ho in 2020.
The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed the outline of a government-initiated bill regulating sandwich-class housing projects during a plenary session in December last year. The bill is currently being reviewed by a standing committee of the legislature, before it is resubmitted to another plenary session for its second and final debate and vote.
This undated photo taken from the website of the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) yesterday shows the undeveloped plot between the Jai Alai casino-hotel complex and Casa Real Hotel.
