Ella Lei insists gov’t should put land reserves to good use

Lawmaker Ella Lei has again called on the government to proceed with plans for the use of several plots of land it has reclaimed in the past few years and which are now part of the so-called land reserves.

Lei was speaking in the period before the agenda of yesterday’s Legislative Assembly session specially dedicated to addressing the bill for the removal of property market cooling measures.

In her inquiry, Lei noted the government now possesses a high quantity of land but few plans or ideas have been unveiled for its use. Even where some ideas have been mentioned, there has been no progress on work to turn them into a reality.

She recalled the response from the Chief Executive (CE), earlier this week, to her inquiry on the topic, noting that he expressed interest in utilizing some of the land for the construction of temporary facilities for artistic, cultural and sports activities to boost the tourism and economic sectors.

“However, it is suggested that, besides large-scale events, the government should temporarily utilize vacant land to address the requests of sectors and residents during socio-economic development, which would be more beneficial for sustainable city development,” she said.

She also remarked on previous responses from the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, who said that in the past, there was the possibility of designating some of the plots to public services in case their use is requested. According to Lei, in practice it is very difficult for any public service to have these requests approved.

She noted several calls from the population for the creation of outdoor leisure areas, which require little construction, but none of these calls have been answered and the land remains unused, overgrown with weeds and mosquitoes.

She urged the government to accelerate decisions and take action as these temporary allocations give the government nothing to lose, so the land should be rapidly made available for the different sectors of Macau.