Aiming to explore the impact of Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s 2025 Policy Address on Macau’s future development, the Collective Wisdom Policy Centre hosted a forum yesterday to explore the implementation of Sam’s four major projects and the development of Macau’s maritime resources.
The centre held the forum at the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations’ (UGAMM – aka Kai Fong) headquarters in Toi San district. The centre is widely seen as Kai Fong’s thinktank.
The one-hour forum focused on Sam’s four major projects, i.e., the Macau International Integrated Tourism and Cultural Zone, the Macau Science and Technology Research and Development Industrial Park, the Macau International Aviation Hub for the Pearl River West Bank, and the Macau-Hengqin International University City.
Lawmaker Leong Hong Sai, Kai Fong’s vice-president, told to the media before the forum that the four projects aim to promote economic diversification and boost youth employment, and that they aim to attract top-tier international talent, strengthen industry-academia-research collaboration, drive local scientific innovation and encourage the return of skilled professionals who have moved abroad.
Leong also said the government needed to optimise its talent classification and training programmes while also addressing residents’ mental well-being to achieve both economic growth and social stability.
Leong also said that the government is energetically advancing the four projects to achieve economic restructuring and upgrading. In the Macau-Hengqin International University City project, Leong pointed out, the government plans to invest over 30 billion patacas to establish a regional higher education hub, attract top international talent, enrich tourism offerings, drive the development of healthcare services and biotechnology, and facilitate the transformation of scientific research achievements.
Lei Ip Fei, a former journalist who holds a doctorate in History, told the forum that the four projects will create a large number of high-quality employment opportunities, particularly providing a development platform for young people.
Lei also pointed out that Sam has proposed a public-private partnership (PPP) model, aiming to introduce market mechanisms to enhance operational efficiency.
At the same time, Lei said, Macau will fully utilise its administrative rights over its 85-square-kilometre maritime area and pursue coordinated development with the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, leveraging its strategic positioning as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base.”
According to previous statements by the local government, the “1+4” strategy aims to reinforce Macau’s function as “One Centre” for integrated tourism and leisure activities, officially known as the World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, while facilitating the development of four emerging industries: big health; modern financial services; high-tech; conventions, exhibitions and sports as well as commercial and trade industries.
Kai Fong senior board member Lam Ka Chun pointed out that the local airport’s expansion project was expected to be completed by 2030, with the aim of increasing its annual passenger capacity to 15 million, aligning with the Greater Bay Area’s (GBA) aviation network. In the cultural and tourism sector, Macau planned to enhance its appeal by introducing international IPs and hosting distinctive events, Lam said.
Kai Fong Vice President Leong Hong Sai (second from right), Kai Fong senior board member Lam Ka Chun (second from left), Kai Fong senior board member Cheong Sok Leng (left) and former journalist-cum-historian Lei Ip Fei pose for a photo before the start of yesterday’s forum at the Kai Fong headquarters in Toi San district. – Photo: Armindo Neves
