Gov’t to build on Pearl Horizon land, buyers allowed to acquire new units

Li Canfeng (left), Sonia Chan and Iong Kong Leong

The government will build on the land plot known as the “Pearl Horizon” in the Areia Preta district at its own expense, as stated yesterday afternoon at a press conference by the Secretary of Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan. The announcement comes after the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) issued the final sentence in the case between the former land concessionaire Polytex Corporation Ltd and the government.

The government claimed that, according to the new Land Law, the land plot should be returned due to its non-development for the entire concession period of 25 years.

Yesterday the public heard the government’s proposal to simultaneously resolve both the land plot issue and the issue of small buyers who have been repeatedly calling on the government for help to “get their houses back.”

In the proposal aired by Sonia Chan, the government intends to build a different building with different characteristics. This one would be used mainly as reserve housing units for the temporary lodging of residents affected by the urban renovation works taking place in the old neighborhoods of the city.

As Chan mentioned, “We will [use this land plot] for the Temporary Housing Plan to the affected owners on the realization of the projects of urban renewal. Part of those housing units will be decommissioned from the plan and sold to the ‘Pearl Horizon’ buyers.” She noted that the aim of the measure is to help the buyers have their house and to improve housing conditions. She concluded by saying, “this solution is not… compensation.”

Chan explained the basic requirements that the previous “Pearl Horizon” buyers must possess in order to access the opportunity to acquire one of the units, starting with the fact that they can only buy one unit each. Companies or groups are not allowed to make purchases, with all units instead reserved only for individuals.

Chan remarked that prices will be similar to those registered at the notary when the contracts were first signed, noting also that the housing units “will have approximately the same size as the ones acquired before.” However, she made it clear that the units will not be the same as before and that the building itself will also undergo several changes to include several social facilities and leisure areas.

Questioned on why the government decided to opt for a “public housing” style and not for a new public tender, Chan said that “due to the restrictions on the [land]… we only had two options: either redo a public concession [by tender] or to do develop the land ourselves [the government],” she said. “We opted for the second one as it is the only option that ensures the former buyers [of Pearl Horizon] have their rights protected.” This idea is not yet a final one, but it is now “a proposal from the government that needs to pass through a legislative procedure and a regime that need to be approved by the Legislative Assembly.”

The Secretary noted that the government would hold a public consultation to take place in the last quarter of 2018 to help establish the rules of acquisition.

Questioned on the decision and the previously announced “proposals” by the company, Chan said, “In fact, we did contact Polytec but the company did not show [any interest in] participating in a new public tender [for the construction of the building].”

During the same press conference, the director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) Li Canfeng noted that DSSOPT will “execute as soon as possible the sentence [from TUI] and according to the Urban Planning Law start to do the project according to the urban characteristic.” He noted that the land plot will be developed for the purpose of “housing units, commercial units and social facilities.”

As for the final project, Li noted DSSOPT hoped to be included during the public consultation period.

Questioned on which kind of social equipment would be included, Li added, “Since the initially projected commercial spaces have not been sold to anyone [by Polytec] we need to reevaluate and see what are the needs [for the area].”

Chan finally noted, “They [buyers] resorted to banking loans [to acquire their units, so] they must continue to pay for those mortgages [to the banks]” and try to be compensated via civil cases in the courts.

According to the figures stated, there were a total of 1,100 housing units sold by Polytec involving a total number of approximately 1,800 people. As for the companies participating in the acquisitions, the government noted a total of 134 companies involved in the acquisition of a total of 139 other housing units at Pearl Horizon.

Buyers’ representative disagrees

IN RESPONSE to the government’s announcement, the leader of the Pearl Horizon Condominium Owners United Association, Kou Meng Pok reacted in a WeChat group chat that includes Pearl Horizon buyers, journalists and lawmakers that Pearl Horizon buyers: “Must get back the property according to the contracts” they have signed with the project developer – Polytec,” he wrote. Expressing a total disapproval for the government’s decision Kou noted his own case to say, “I bought two, now it becomes one,” in reference to the rules noted by the Secretary Sonia Chan that would grant the possibility of acquisition of only one unit per buyer in the new development to be built by the government, calling for the resignation of the Secretary of Administration and Justice, who they claimed failed to fulfill the promise that the government would protect buyers’ interests.

Stamp duty refund to reach MOP602 million

DURING THE government press conference held yesterday afternoon to present the executive proposal for the land plot of the former “Pearl Horizon” development, the Director of the Financial Services Bureau (DSF), Iong Kong Leong, said that the government will proceed with the refund to all buyers who have paid stamp duty. According to Iong, there is a total of 3,480 cases of tax paid due to contracts related to the Pearl Horizon development that totals around MOP602 million. The refund will be done by the DSF since, “the contracts cannot be fulfilled anymore.” These refunds should be processed in the next 30 to 60 days.