News

The CCAC has released the results of an inquiry into the land plot at Rua dos Pescadores where buildings no. 15 and 17 (commonly known as the “Leather Factory”) were located. In response to the fact that at that time the Administration accepted the maintaining of the status of the building already constructed on the grounds that it should not be subject to the declaration of invalidation arising from the corruption case of the former Secretaryfor Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long and the fact that the land use period was approved to be extended in and after 2018, the CCAC believes that they, to a certain extent, met the principle of useful and effective use of land and there were no apparent administrative illegalities or irregularities. The street alignment plan, on which the construction of the relevant building was based, was issued four years before the entry into force of the Law of Urban Planning, and there was therefore no situation of false starting or circumventing the law as such. Nevertheless, in the CCAC’s opinion, as the Administration did not, when calculating the premium for the aforesaid land plot, deduct the amount of the premium according to the amount already paid for the fulfillment of the original concession contract but according to a hypothetical amount of the premium payable by the current concessionaire if it had completed the architectural project of the previous concessionaire, such practice lacked consideration of logical reasonableness and fairness of interest distribution. Therefore, public works departments are suggested to seriously review the relevant practice and step up efforts to consolidate the premium regime in force so that the actual market value of the land of Macao may be reflected on the premiums and the precious land resources of the Macao SAR may be fully protected.
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The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre indicates that similar to the Mainland, the current COVID-19 landscape in Macao is dominated by Omicron XBB subvariants (including XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.9, etc.). The gradual decline of natural infection- and vaccine-induced immunity, coupled with the emergence of new subvariants and the increasing flow of people, has resulted in a rising activity of the coronavirus in the local community. In order to help the public in assessing their medical needs, the Health Bureau has released the “Advice for Seeking Medical Attention for Patients of COVID-19” (hereinafter “the Advice”) with reference to the experience and suggestions on COVID-19 treatment around world. The Advice supersede the “Important notes for home isolated medical observation of Covid-19 cases”.
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With the successive return of international flights to Macao, several carriers progressively increase the frequency of direct flights between Macao and Southeast Asia destinations, followed by a series of familiarization group visits actively organized by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) from different countries and regions to Macao. Invited by the Office, the latest delegation comprises members of the travel trade from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, who are on a familiarization and networking trip in Macao from 9 to 13 May. Through the industry operators’ direct experience in Macao’s new travel elements, the Office hopes to spark Southeast Asians’ interest in Macao as a preferred destination and expand the diversity of international source markets, gaining new momentum for tourism and economic revival.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the total population as at end-March 2023 increased by 800 quarter-to-quarter to 673,600, mainly attributable to a rise in the number of non-local students living in Macao. Women outnumbered men, with the female population (359,500) accounting for 53.4% of the total population.
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The heliport carried out the full scale emergency exercise yesterday night (10 May) to test the capacity of the personnel in handling emergencies and train them with the necessary skills. The exercise simulated the scenario of a tail rotor drive failure after the helicopter has taken off, the accident of which resulted in a forced heavy landing on the mainpad. All responsible parties activated their contingency plans to resolve the crisis.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both increased month-on-month in March 2023. With regard to the outstanding balances, RMLs dropped whereas CRELs witnessed an increase on a monthly basis.
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The online registration period for the exchange of the Tiger and Rabbit Zodiac banknotes and the XXIV Olympic Winter Games banknotes will end at 6:00pm tomorrow (May 12). The Monetary Authority of Macao would like to remind those citizens who are interested in exchanging for the said banknotes to complete the registration process before the mentioned deadline.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released, for the first time, the rental statistics on building units to enrich the statistical data on real estate market. According to the data, the average rent per square metre of usable area for residential units in Macao was MOP130 in the first quarter of 2023, down by 1.5% quarter-to-quarter. Among the major statistical districts, the average rents for residential units in ZAPE (MOP111), Areia Preta & Iao Hon (MOP125), Barra & Manduco (MOP128), Doca do Lamau (MOP148) and Baixa da Taipa (MOP130) decreased by 1.8%, 1.6%, 1.5%, 1.3% and 0.8% respectively.
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The Macao Polytechnic University held the 2023 Scholarship Award Ceremony at the University Auditorium on April 22. Scholarships were awarded to 600 outstanding students to recognise their excellent achievements in different academic and professional fields, and to encourage students to continue to strive for academic excellence and motivation. MPU aims to cultivate young leaders who are creative and competitive with an international perspective to contribute to the country.
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