Pearl Horizon owners submit petition on land-use rights

Dozens of property owners of high-end residence Pearl Horizon submitted a petition to Government Headquarters yesterday, hoping to meet with officials regarding the resolution of the expiration of the site’s land use term at the end of the year.
Project 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 company said it had applied to extend its term in February and is now awaiting official approval, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo Rosário, said last week that no extension would be given to developers failing to complete their projects during their land use terms based on the new Land Law.
Submitting their second petition to Government Headquarters yesterday since July, Pearl Horizon property owners told reporters that they were concerned about how the government would protect their rights and benefits if the developer fails to complete the project.
On Monday evening, the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice suggested in a press release that the government is studying how to resolve the Pearl Horizon issue, claiming the government is highly concerned about “the expiration of the land-use term for some plots”, as well as the rights and benefits of residents who have purchased properties on those land plots.
‘Dispatched by the Chief Executive, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, the Secretary for Economy and Finance and the Secretary for Transport and Public Works have initiated a study on the issue, and will resolve the related problems by following the principle of legality in order to protect the rights and benefits of the property owners,’ the Office wrote.
The project, located in Areia Preta on the Macau Peninsula, is slated to be completed by the end of 2018. But the developer said last month that construction on the project could be halted if there is no approval from the government to extend its land-use right on the plot.
In fact, before Polytex announced the land use term on the plot was expiring, the property owners of the project had already complained about the developer’s delay in construction works, as they were concerned they would not see the residential building completed as scheduled. In August this year, they also attempted to solicit help from the city’s Consumer Council.
Nevertheless, the developer said the delay was because it was only issued the construction permit by the government in August 2014, having spent three years completing an environmental assessment report on the project.