Not only does Macao embrace multiculturalism, but she is also a dramatic city. She used to be a fishermen's wharf of 12 km2 in 1912. Gradually under the vigorous effect of tourism, immigration and foreign investments, now she struggles and becomes a cosmopolitan city with a total area of over 29 km2. Land reclamation is deemed necessary to meet the upsurge of population and economic activities. The State Council's approval of Macao's land reclamation came almost four years after Macao first proposed the scheme in 2006.

Macao has a total of 3.5 km2 now for the new land reclamation; the pieces are mainly located along the coast of the southern and eastern parts of the Macao peninsula, and also north of Taipa. After the government's first stage of public consultation for the future town planning on June 19 last year, it is reported that more than half of the reclaimed land will be allocated for public facilities. At least 50 percent of the reclaimed land will be used for green space, public buildings and community facilities. Part will be saved for social housing and the development of business sectors to promote economic diversification and "an appropriate amount of land" will be reserved for private housing projects, according to Lao Iong, the Chairman of the Urban Planning Department of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT). The government has promised that no gaming developments will take place in the new areas. Its objective is to create sustainable development for Macao through improving the residents' living standards in the city. The Macao government said the reclaimed land will be sufficient for Macao's development for the next 20 to 30 years.

At present, only zone A in the northeast of the Macao peninsula is set to get ready before 2016 because it will be the link between Macao and the artificial island of the Zhuhai-Macao-Hong Kong Bridge. Both zones A and B are planned mainly for road infrastructure, tourism, recreation facilities, parks, green areas, public buildings, commercial and residential neighborhoods. Meanwhile zone C, D and E are located in northern Taipa and they will be used for public and community facilities, transport infrastructure, commercial and residential districts and for diverse industries' projects.

63% of respondents support the land reclamation project but only 35% of them say that they will participate in the second public consultation.

Only half of the respondents know about Macao's land area

We have conducted a survey on Macao residents' knowledge and opinions of the land reclamation project. This survey was conducted in March, 2011. Among the 100 survey questionnaires collected, 48% are students, 30% are white collar workers, the rest are mainly casino workers, taxi drivers, tour guides, etc. Nearly half of the respondents are knowledgeable about Macao's total land area 100 years ago and in the current development, with 48% responding 12 km2 in 1912 and 47% responding 29.5 km2 in 2009 respectively.

Social Housing is the Most Urgent Need

63% of the respondents support the land reclamation project, they think it is going to benefit and sustain Macao's future development. No matter how the government is going to prioritize the social needs or the overall economic development, they are concerned more about the government's promises of building social houses. 29% of them hope that the government will stabilize the market price of private housing and ease the oligopolies of real estate companies in the housing market. The citizens think social housing can help to minimize the market price gap between social and private housing. Apart from solving the problem of social housing, they understand that the transportation system in Macao needs further improvement and 17% support the improvement of transportation facilities. They hope that the government can use this opportunity to ease traffic congestions especially in the busy and condensed centers of Macao and Taipa. Moreover, they also hope there will be more public spaces available for parking. The third urgent need that respondents choose is private housing, about 15% express that they hope the supply of private housing can supplement the insufficient supply of social housing in the new reclamation area.

17% of the respondents say they do not support the project, whereas the remaining 20% say they have no idea or comment on the project. People who oppose the project mainly think that this would destroy the landscape and view of Macao; others think that the project will cause severe environmental pollution which the government is not capable of handling. 83% of the respondents who oppose the project think that it is a waste of public funds because this development is not necessary, they think the current land area is sufficient for sustainable economic and social development. Besides, some of them worry that officials in charge may favor the benefits of the contractors and constructors, in case that happens, the project will be at risk for corruption.

65% respondents would not participate in the public consultation

Among the 100 respondents, 65% of them say that they will not participate in the second public consultation regarding the land reclamation draft plan in the third quarter of next year because 55 % of them are not interested in public consultation and 45% of them may not be available to participate, but generally 68% of them have confidence in the government's ability to prioritize and put residents' needs into practice. In contrast, respondents who are willing to join the public consultation said they want to have deeper knowledge about the government's planning and to observe whether the government is keeping its promises. Overall, the majority is optimistic about the project in that they think the central government is supportive of Macao's social and economic development.

The government should focus more on welfare

Kathy Hoi and Bo Lee, a typical young couple in Macao, have been working in a casino for three years since their graduation from university. As they cannot afford to buy an apartment, they have been living together in a rented apartment for two years though they are planning to get married. Lee expressed his opinion on the government's plans of land reclamation, "I feel disappointed in our government now. I don't believe the new reclamation plan will bring any benefits to the young couples who would like to build their own family." He said that they have already saved money for two years but still cannot afford the down payment. Although Macau's income standard has increased, inflation is getting serious too. What concerns them is not what the new reclamation plan can bring to Macao; they care more about the welfare which the government offers. They hope the government will use the new reclamation area to build more social housing.

Jose Pereira Coutinho: Auctions of Land Should Be Transparent

Jose Pereira Coutinho, a legislator of the current Legislative Assembly, said that there is a very urgent need for the government to provide sufficient land for housing and to set a price that is reasonable for residents to buy apartments, especially during this time of inflation. He claimed that residents have been suffering a loss as the government used to monopolize the land resources and allocate them to powerful estate holders without formal procedures, resulting in the phenomenon of rising housing prices. As the government is planning for this project, they should regulate the laws, prevent and slow down the rising price in the estates.

He further said that the reclaimed land should not be used to develop casinos and land should not be auctioned in eight to ten pieces at the same time in order to prevent influential buyers from raising the price further. The needs of the middle-class and lower-class residents should be the priority before any other developments.

He said the prospect of the reclamation project is good for Macao's future development. However, since the government used to have little transparency in land auctions, therefore, residents are less likely to be informed of the land projects and hence have little interference to object to the government's actions. The government has been criticized for auctioning land below the market price during the previous administration, as over 290 out of 300 pieces of land were supplied to estate developers without public auctions. The auction of land is therefore a concern in this coming land reclamation.

Coutinho added that the distribution of land resources without public consultation and acknowledgement is ridiculous. He urged the transparency of the new reclamation project and believed that without it the public consultation is only a symbolic representation that has little effectiveness.

David Iao: Land reclamation helps to improve infrastructures and facilities

Social housing is essential

David Iao, Head of the Supervisory Board of the University of Macao Students Union, thinks that the first priority of land reclamation is social housing because most of the five-storey housing in the old areas are too old and many people cannot afford to buy an apartment. If social housing is developed, the government can remove those worn buildings in the old areas and hence the roads are widened which can ease the traffic problems. Moreover, there can be more space for public facilities and infrastructures also. Although Iao is living in Taipa where there are more public facilities and more developed infrastructures, he is astonished to see many old buildings in the old areas where the roads are extremely narrow. In addition, public facilities and infrastructures are very deficient; therefore, it is necessary to improve all these problems through social housing, said Iao.

Land reclamation vs environment destruction

Iao is not optimistic about land reclamation because it will harm the environment and disturb the ecology; on the other hand, it is necessary since Macao is too small for the present situation.

The Government should popularize public consulation

Iao knows that the reclaimed lands in NAPE (新口岸) will be used to build social houses while lands near the Macao tower will be for a sport court, however, he believes that the government's public consultation and announcements are not popular enough and many citizens are not very clear about the plans on land reclamation. Iao hopes that the government can work more on that. Some citizens think that the government's public consultation is just for show and it is not likely that it will listen to the public's opinions, however, Iao insists that if we give our opinions, the government will at least know what we want; if we do not give our opinions, we are giving up our freedom of speech and the government will never know what we want.