Lawmaker-cum-civil engineer Leong Hong Sai said yesterday that “many” flat owners in old residential buildings were “highly willing” to redevelop their buildings, but they were likely discouraged from launching the redevelopment because of the perception that it would be very costly.
Leong also suggested that the government offer discounted rents to flat owners who move into its future temporary housing units while their former residential buildings are being redeveloped.
Leong made the remarks while speaking to reporters yesterday on the sidelines of a meeting with flat owners keen to have their old buildings redeveloped. The meeting, which was held at San Kio Garden, was organised by the San Kio District Welfare and Mutual Help Association. San Kio Garden is located next to Teatro Alegria (known as Wing Lok Cinema in Cantonese).
The San Kio District Welfare and Mutual Help Association is a neighbourhood association affiliated with the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (known as Kai Fong in Cantonese), of which Leong is a vice-president.
In addition to Leong, the meeting was also attended by several engineers, urban planners, and Kai Fong representatives.
The ongoing construction of temporary housing buildings on Plot P in Areia Preta district is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The high-rises, which are developed by government-owned Macau Urban Renewal Limited (MUR), will be earmarked for property owners affected by urban renewal projects to rent temporarily during the redevelopment of their former homes.
The new law regulating the city’s urban renewal process took effect in June last year, according to which only at least 80 percent of condominium unit ownership are required to agree to the redevelopment of residential buildings that are older than 40 years.
According to the law, the minimum proportion of condominium unit ownership required to agree to the redevelopment of their building is 85 percent for buildings that are between 30 and 40 years old.
Previously, a building could only be redeveloped if all of its condominium unit owners agreed to the redevelopment.
Leong noted yesterday that the lower required proportion listed by the new law makes it easier for flat owners of old buildings to initiate the redevelopment of their buildings.
Lawmaker-cum-civil engineer Leong Hong Sai talks to reporters at San Kio Garden yesterday. – Photo: Tony Wong
