Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário says that in recent years the government has repossessed 93 plots of land comprising undeveloped ones and illegally occupied ones, covering 720,000 square metres in total.
He said that the government has already used 194,000 square metres, or 27 percent, of the repossessed plots.
Rosário made the remarks when replying to oral interpellations by lawmakers during a plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle on Wednesday.
In the past few years the government has repossessed a number of plots of land after annulling their respective land concessions after the respective leaseholders had failed to develop the plots within specified periods of time.
During the plenary session, several lawmakers urged the government to earmark repossessed plots for recreational or sports facilities on a temporary basis before they are used for their permanent purposes, instead of just keeping them idle.
Rosário underlined that repossessed plots of land have become part of the government’s land reserves, adding that it was wrong to say that the government was keeping them idle.
The policy secretary said that the nature of the government’s land reserves is similar to its financial reserves. He noted that the government only uses part of its financial reserves when necessary, and for land reserves, the situation is the same, he said.
Rosário pointed out that his duty and role is to manage government land instead of deciding how available plots should be used. He said that after a particular public entity has requested permission to use a particular available plot, the government will study and decide whether to approve it.
Rosário also said that the government does not plan to start using the Zone C land reclamation area in the near future, adding that for the time being the government will continue to keep it as a part of its land reserves.
The Zone C land reclamation project off Ocean Gardens on the north-western coast of Taipa, which got off the ground in late 2018, was completed in November 2022.
Macau’s official urban master plan has earmarked Zone C – a man-made island close to Sai Van Bridge – for residential and commercial purposes.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário addresses Wednesday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo courtesy of TDM
