Three projects in the territory are facing a similar problem to the high-end residence Pearl Horizon on the Peninsula – whereby the developer has not yet completed its development plan on the granted land plots although their land-use terms are to expire, the head of Land Management Department of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Teresa Mourato Lopes, revealed to reporters yesterday morning. The construction sites of the three projects, according to the Official Gazette, are all located in Taipa; namely, Victory Real Estate Development’s luxury residential complex Star River – Windsor Arch opposite the Jockey Club; a residential project near Estrada de Sete Tanques granted to Sociedade Hotelpor Hotelaria, Importação e Exportação, Limitda; as well as a 3-star hotel project near the local airport granted to The Macau International Airport Company Ltd (CAM). The three land plots were all granted in 1990, despite amendments being made after. Asked by reporters on the current status of the three projects, Ms. Lopes declined to comment except to say that the construction progress of the three projects was going well. The manager director of Victory Real Estate Development, William Kuan Vai Lam, said in July that the company’s residential project would be ready for occupation this year, while 500-odd units in six blocks of the complex had all been purchased over the past two to three years. But the entire Windsor Arch project – comprising 10 blocks and occupying a total area of 18,530 square metres (199,455 square feet) – was originally slated to be completed and ready for occupation in 2010. Secretary of Transport and Public Works Raimundo Rosário has said all developers will have to finish projects before their permission to use the land for their projects expires, with no exceptions. The DSSOPT official also told reporters yesterday that the government would only prolong developers’ land-use terms if the delays in projects are not their responsibility based on the new Land Law. Nevertheless, asked by reporters whether the government would extend the land-use term for Pearl Horizon, the official said it would depend upon the study of the three Secretaries. She suggested that the land premium for the extension may exceed MOP1 billion. On Monday evening, the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice said its Secretary, the Secretary for Economy and Finance and the Secretary for Transport and Public Works had initiated a study on the issue of the expiration of land-use terms, as this may affect the rights and benefits of off-plan buyers of the projects. Pearl Horizon developer Polytex Corporation Ltd. told property owners last month that the company’s 25-year land use term on the project site expires on December 26 this year, although the project has only finished its foundation works.
—
