The Macau government will only use particular available plots of land for community facilities on a temporary basis before they are finally used for their permanent purposes if their temporary use involves public interest, the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) reaffirmed in a statement yesterday.
The statement also said that repossessed plots of land have become part of the government’s land reserves because of which it was wrong to say that the government is keeping them idle.
The DSSCU statement came after a number of civic leaders suggested, during yesterday morning’s current affairs phone-in programme hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi, the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM, that the government study the feasibility of using some of its repossessed plots for recreational facilities or open-air carparks on a temporary basis before they are finally used for their permanent purposes, instead of just keeping them idle. Over the past few years, several lawmakers and civic leaders have made similar remarks and opinions.
The Lands and Urban Construction Bureau is the public entity tasked with urban planning and land management.
The statement underlined that the Macau government has been managing and using its land resources in strict compliance with the Land Law and the Urban Planning Law, both of which came into force in 2014. After “many years of effort”, the statement said, the local government has repossessed various long-undeveloped and idle plots of land covering 720,000 square metres in total, which “have become state-owned land”.
Government land in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is state-owned land, which the MSAR government manages and can use for urban development.
The statement noted that the local government has already used 190,000 square metres, or 26 percent, of the repossessed plots, for various purposes such as the construction of government office buildings, government warehouses, public housing estates, and its senior citizens’ rental residential building on Plot P in Areia Preta, as well as for public tenders for private residential development projects.
The statement noted that Macau’s official urban master plan, which took effect in 2022, earmarks the city’s land for various purposes such as public facilities, ecological conservation, green areas and other types of public open spaces. The statement said that available plots earmarked for public facilities will be primarily used for projects such as buildings used by public entities, cultural facilities, education facilities, and recreational and sports facilities.
The statement said that public-facility projects will be planned in a way that enhances their accessibility and connection with residential areas.
The official urban master plan divides Macau into 18 subareas for planning. Eastern District 2, which covers the Zone A land reclamation area, is the first subarea for which an urban development plan has been completed. The Eastern District 2 urban development plan, which took effect in March this year, is so far the only one completed.
Yesterday’s statement underlined that the local government is currently working on drafting urban development plans for various subareas listed by the urban master plan, adding that public facilities will be planned properly in compliance with the current conditions and development needs of the various subareas.
The statement reaffirmed that “state-owned plots of land that have still not been used are not ones that the government is keeping idle”. Instead, the statement said, government plots that have still not been used for their permanent purposes are part of its land reserves.
The statement noted that after a particular public entity has requested permission to use a particular available plot for temporary purposes, DSSCU officials will study whether the proposed temporary use is suitable on that plot, after which the MSAR government will study the DSSCU assessment findings before deciding whether to approve it.
The statement underlined that the MSAR government will only approve a particular plot’s temporary use if it is in the public interest.
This photo taken last month shows the 94,000-square-metre government plot next to the Lisboeta Macau resort in Cotai. The plot was repossessed last year by the government, which chose it last month as the location for a temporary open-air venue for hosting concerts and other performances with a capacity of 50,000 spectators. – Photo courtesy of TDM
