Retrieved land reserves not idle, Secretary claims

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, has refuted claims from several people and most recently from lawmaker Zheng Anting that the land plots previously retrieved by the government due to concession expiration are idle or abandoned.

This assertion came at a recent plenary session at the Legislative Assembly.

In a response to an inquiry by lawmaker Zheng, who called on the government to utilize these land plots for sports and leisure, Rosário said, “It is not within my competence to decide on the purpose for the land recovered for the Macau land reserves.” He added there are no unused or wasted land plots in the government’s possession.

Rosário also disclosed statistical data showing the government has used around 27% of the 720,000 square meters of idle land plots with expired concessions in recent years. He reiterated that various public services and departments have the right to propose uses for these land resources.

Regarding the remaining 73% of the land reserves yet to be allocated, he said the government must preserve some of these valuable resources for future development and needs.

“You can say that the government is stingy or tight-fisted, for using only 27% of the land resources, but it is a deliberate government decision,” Rosário said. He added that future administrations could choose to use all the reserves if they wish.

Rosário compared land reserves to financial reserves, noting that both have the same general purpose.

Several lawmakers proposed temporarily using some of the land plots as parking lots while awaiting development, which can take several years.

However, Rosário said there are currently enough parking spaces in Macau for existing vehicles, adding these land reserves would be unsuitable for use as parking lots given most of the unassigned land resources are located in Taipa and Coloane, where there is no pressing need to increase parking capacity.

He acknowledged the suggestion could be beneficial if suitable spaces in the Peninsula were included, where demand for parking is higher.