The government announced last year that four residential sites would be put up for public auction for the construction of private residential buildings, and Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário told reporters yesterday that the auctions would still take place this year, the timing of which would be announced shortly.
Rosário made the remarks on the sidelines of the “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day” celebration ceremony at MGM MACAU.
He reaffirmed that the land auctions initially planned for last year were delayed due to ongoing preparation work.
Responding to media queries about when the auctions would be held, Rosário said: “Details will be announced in a few weeks or months”.
Rosário did not elaborate on which pieces of land will be auctioned off by the government.
The government has not held land auctions since 2008, according to previous news reports.
5G covers 50 pct of Macau, over 20 pct of smartphones use 5G: CTT chief
Meanwhile, in celebration of the annual “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day” (WTISD) on May 17, the Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) held a celebration ceremony and a seminar themed “Empowering the least developed countries through information and communication technologies”, at the Grand Ballroom of MGM MACAU in Nape, aiming to accelerate sustainable development in the places where international assistance is needed the most and to tap the full potential of the least developed countries helping them make progress on their path to prosperity, in order to ensure everyone has the opportunity to access high-quality internet, CTT Director Derby Lau Wai Meng said in her opening speech.
Lau pointed out that “the use of the internet in Macau is widespread”, but was quick to add that Macau still has great room for development in the application of ICT (Information and communication technologies), especially with the government’s “vigorous” promotion of Macau as a “smart city” in recent years.
Lau quoted the findings of the survey on the household use of computer technology carried out by the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) last year as noting that Macau’s internet penetration rate stood at 90.0 percent, increasing by 1.5 percentage points on an annual basis. The internet penetration rate reached 99.5 percent among those aged between 15 and 24 in 2022.
With the rollout of the 5G network and services, the speed of access to the network is increasing, enabling, at the same time, the launch of new smart applications on the market, Lau stressed.
Speaking to the media about 5G service coverage in the city, Lau said that since the two licences were issued last year, the coverage rate of the services provided by the licensees has met or even exceeded the relevant requirements in some cases, i.e., the two telecom operators – CTM and China Telecom (Macau) – have built a system covering at least 50 percent of the city, within just 12 months from the date of issuance of the licences.
More than 20 percent of Macau’s smartphone users are using the 5G service, Lau noted, pointing out that compared with neighbouring areas, the speed of local residents switching to 5G plans has been “quite fast”. Lau said she believed this was due to Macau’s small population (about 670,000) and the high coverage rate of the 5G service.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário (left), accompanied by Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) Director Lau Wai Meng, speaks to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s celebratory ceremony of “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day” at MGM MACAU in Nape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
