Administrative regulation on land public tenders finally concluded

Leong Heng Teng (left) and Li Canfeng

An administrative regulation that cpmplements the Land Law, in force since 2013, has finally been concluded, the Executive Council (ExCo) spokesperson Leong Heng Teng informed yesterday during a press conference.

The regulation aims to clarify the rules and procedures regarding the organization and application of land plots for public tenders, and comes six years after the original law was enforced.

Questioned on the topic, Leong noted, “the general law already provides the framework,” and this regulation is only a clarification of procedures.

According to the spokesperson, “there was no matter of urgency on this regulation, since the law already defines the procedures [to be taken].”

Leong noted that the purpose of the administrative regulation is to “establish more strict procedures, clarifying several steps of the process.”

Leong explained that this regulation was elaborated using the articles of the Land Law, not promoting any changes to it but describing, in detail, the procedures.

As for the regulation, it establishes two different kinds of tenders; a “simple” one, in which a committee, to be created for each tender, only evaluates the proposals based on the tender bids, and a second one in which the proposal includes a plan of land usage.

In the second case, the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) director Li Canfeng explained that there is a need to establish two different committees, the first to open the proposals, and a second one to evaluate the proposals, making note that one of the changes promoted by this new regulation is that “the people that are part of the first committee, cannot be in the second one. There is a total separation that did not exist before.”

Leong stated that five members and two substitutes would compose the opening committee, while the evaluation committee must be composed of civil servants working within the relevant department, in the roles of president of the committee, one committee member and one substitute member. This committee should be created by an order of the Chief Executive. RM