Macau Urban Renewal Limited (MUR) representatives attended the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs meeting on 2 June and presented the projects’ plans and financial status of the company.

During the meeting, MUR Chairperson of the Board of Directors Peter Lam Kam Seng and Finance Committee Chairperson Lau Veng Seng said that MUR is an executing entity wholly owned by the SAR Government and is responsible for the coordination and promotion of all urban renewal activities.

The company received an initial capital investment of 100 million patacas from the SAR Government and last year, the company’s total revenue was 976,600 patacas and general operating expenses were 2,416,532 patacas.

The company is currently tasked with three projects, which are Lot P in Areia Preta, Macau New Neighbhourhood (MNN) in Hengqin and Iao Hon Estate research study. All three projects’ financing will be from business loans.

Regarding Lot P project in Areia Preta, MUR has completed registering Pearl Horizon pre-sale buyers’ application to purchase Home Swap units, and has begun the layout plan for the land lot, as well as the design of home swap and temporary housing units. The preliminary plan was submitted to the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) in May for approval. There will be 2,495 temporary housing units for residents, who are affected by revitalisation of old districts, to live in temporarily.

MUR has also launched a 10-month research study on Iao Hon Estate. Preparation such as the design of questionnaires and research of Iao Hon information has been completed. The research will include conducting face-to-face household interviews with residents of 2,555 units at the estate and collecting property owners’ and tenants’ expectations and suggestions on urban renewal. This information would help speed up the process of urban renewal.

The area in which the estate is located will be revamped with the addition of a car park, a park and a greenery area among others, but without increasing residential density. Since the layout plan design of the estate has not been finalised, a budget proposal is not available at this stage.

MUR is actively coordinating with the SAR Government’s policy and following up on the Zhuhai-Macau joint integrated livelihood project which is MNN in Hengqin. Besides providing residential units, the project also includes about 200 rental-only social housing for talents.

MUR is also responsible for the construction of other auxiliary facilities including a school, a kindergarten, a senior centre, a health centre and a family and community service centre. When built, these facilities will be handed to the SAR Government to operate in accordance with Macau standards.

The project financing will be from business loans, financing 5.8 billion yuan with an average interest rate of 3.45 percent from the Bank of China Macau Branch as the registered capital of the project company of MNN. The project’s construction costs will also be raised through business loans. As there are limits to the pricing of residential units and the buyers, it is expected that the project will only reach break-even status.

MUR will continue to follow the principle of high transparency and will timely release information about the operation status and the projects’ progress so that the public has access to the latest information about revitalisation of old districts, taking a pragmatic approach to promote the urban renewal process.