Committee greenlights bill that moves to final voting

[Photo: Renato Marques]

The Legislative Assembly’s Third Standing Committee has concluded its detailed review of the draft Law on the Use of Maritime Areas and has cleared the bill to move forward for final voting.

The final legal opinion was signed yesterday by the committee members.

The new law would establish the authorization regime for maritime area use in Macau, clarify the difference between long-term concessions and short-term temporary permits, and clearly define what happens to infrastructure placed or built in maritime areas when authorizations end.

Among other aspects, the new bill also aims to set review procedures and environmental consultation requirements for a number of activities.

If the bill is approved in its final reading and plenary vote, the new rules are proposed to take effect on Dec. 1 this year.

This bill has been noted as crucial supplementary legislation to Law No. 7/2018, the “Framework Law on the Management of Maritime Areas.”

The committee noted that, during the discussion, one of the topics that required more debate was related to the distinction between the rules established by the management regime and this law, which relates more to licensing. There were also doubts regarding the integration of the maritime areas law with the land law.

In the committee’s opinion, after the analysis, the different scopes and regimes are now clearly defined, as well as the situations included in the long-term and short-term use of the areas.

According to the clarifications established, the exclusive-use concession applies to the construction of long-term infrastructure and has a term of two to 15 years, while the temporary-use authorization is intended for short-term projects involving the use of maritime areas, with a maximum term of two years.

The new clarification also establishes that infrastructure built under the exclusive-use concession reverts to the Macau SAR free of charge after the concession expires, while any infrastructure built under the temporary-use authorization must be removed and the areas must be restored to their original state.

The bill will now be submitted to the plenary, tentatively before the legislative holidays that start in mid-August.