Macau Urban Renewal Limited (MUR) said yesterday that it has launched an application process for highly-qualified professionals to rent “talent units” in the Macau New Neighbourhood (MNN) residential estate on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island.
The statement said that there are no restrictions on where the tenants come from, but it did not elaborate on the eligibility criteria for renting a flat.
The company made the announcement in a statement on its WeChat account yesterday.
The MNN neighbourhood consists of 27 residential towers with 19 to 26 floors each. The 27 MNN towers have a total of 4,279 flats, comprising about 4,000 units for purchase and around 200 units earmarked for highly-qualified professionals for rent only.
The MNN project, which got off the ground in 2021, was developed by MUR, which is owned by the Macau government. MNN home sales started on November 28 last year after the project had been fully completed.
As of the middle of last month, over 1,200 MNN flats had been sold, according to local media reports at that time.
Currently, all Macau residents aged 18 or over are eligible to buy an MNN flat, regardless of whether they own any residential properties in Zhuhai or Macau, which came after MUR relaxed its MNN purchase eligibility at the middle of May.
Previously, only Macau residents aged at least 18 who did not own any residential property in Zhuhai nor owned more than one residential unit in Macau were eligible to buy an MNN flat.
As of early this year, over 1,000 MNN flats had been sold since home sales started in late November last year.
Yesterday’s MUR statement said that the company has now launched its application process for renting MNN “talent” units.
The statement said that the about 200 rental units earmarked for highly-qualified professionals are primarily in Tower 17 and Tower 18, which are located just next to the MNN estate’s school, which will be operated by Macau’s Hou Kong Middle School from the upcoming 2024/25 academic year.
The school is officially known as Hengqin School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School.
The statement did not elaborate on the eligibility requirements to rent a “talent” flat, only saying that the units will be leased to “eligible organisations and their highly-qualified professionals, without restrictions on where they come from”.
The statement said that MUR is now accepting applications from “various organisations for their highly-qualified professionals to rent MNN talent flats” with the aim of attracting more highly-qualified professionals to pursue their career development in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
The statement said that MUR is currently in talks with various organisations such as Hengqin School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School, the University of Macau (UM), and the MNN health station concerning the rental of the MNN “talent” flats for their highly-qualified professionals.
The MNN estate’s health station will be operated by the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese.
The statement said that the more highly-qualified professionals that live in the MNN neighbourhood will help promote Hengqin’s development.
According to local media reports, a number of shops in the MNN neighbourhood opened last month, such as a shop selling loose leaf teas and a convenience store.
This undated handout photo released by Macau Urban Renewal Limited (MUR) yesterday shows Towers 17 and 18 (front) of the Macau New Neighbourhood (MNN) residential estate in Hengqin.
