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It has been revealed that the Government do not relate land values with housing tax estimations when calculating concession premia.

The Director of Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) Jaime Carion answered questions put by legislators at the Legislative Assembly's provisional commission on land concession meeting that was held yesterday (31 January).

Jornal Va Kio reported that DSSOPT has its own formula in estimating the value of premium for a land plot, which is based on an estimate of the final value of the developed property, including housing units and shops, minus the construction cost.

This is not related to the housing tax estimates conducted by the Financial Service Bureau (DSF).

Another system of estimates exists for calculating premia for hotels.

The newspaper pointed out that the disconnection between premium estimates and housing tax estimate may contribute to the fact that premia are being too low for recent land concessions.

Legislators demanded the Government to increase the transparency of land concessions during the meeting, and they also demanded consultation with the public and experts on any development plans.

The Macau International Airport will invest HKD 4 billion in a five-year expansion project.

The airport has invited the Dutch consultant NACO to develop a five-year development plan, of which 14 more aprons will be constructed, making a total of 38 aprons, to process 32 flights from 24 in an hour.

The passenger building will also be expanded to process at least 8 million passengers from 6 million per year.

A footbridge will also be constructed to connect the airport with the forthcoming Pac-On maritime terminal.

The airport pointed out that the project has been submitted for Government authorisation.

The Government has promised not to authorise importations of non-resident drivers at the present stage.

Secretary for the Economy and Finance Tam Pak Yuen (ÃÓ§B·½) told representatives of the General Transport Workers Union (¥æ³q¹B¿é·~Á`¤u·|) in an appointment that more and better conditions will be created to attract local people to become professional drivers.

Tam pointed out that there are 4,000 heavy vehicle driving licence holders, whilst there are only more than 1,000 people who are professional heavy passenger vehicle drivers.

The trade union expressed satisfaction over Tam's reply, and they also demanded betterment of the management regimes of the two bus companies, and to impose restrictions on new private cars introduction.

A signature campaign was held earlier to demand the Government not to authorise any importation of non-resident drivers, following an intention by bus company Transmac.

Legislators pointed out that poor and inhumane management regime at Transmac has contributed to bus driver shortages.

The wife of the 'prime suspect' of Ao Man Long's corruption case was arrested immediately upon arrival to Macau on Monday (29 January).

Leong Lai Heng (±çÄR­ë), wife of Pedro Chiang who is reportedly 'on mission' in Cambodia, was found prima face after preliminary hearing at the Criminal Prosecution Court. She was released on bail for MOP 400,000, on the condition that she is not allowed to leave the territory, surrenders her travel documents and not to contact the related people.

Sources told Jornal Va Kio that Leong was not in Macau when five other people were arrested by the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) on 19 January. She was visiting her husband in Cambodia, where she went to via the mainland.

The same newspaper pointed out that Leong knew clearly that she will be arrested upon arrival to Macau, but there is business to look after, and that the bank accounts of both Chiang and Leong were frozen by the authorities, meaning that cashflow problems have got to be resolved.

Rumours within the community claimed that Pedro Chiang 'had wanted to cooperate with the authorities' over the case.

The Government will impose restrictions on the heights of buildings at the foot of Guia Hill at NAPE.

In a statement made by the Office for the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, it claimed that the Government will respond to demands to resolve the landscape crisis of the potential development projects at the land plots along the Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, at the foot of Guia Hill in NAPE, which may block the view of the Guia Lighthouse from the waterfront.

The move came after the Central Government announced that it will adjust the height of its new office tower, so that it will not exceed the body of Guia Hill.

There is no mention on the height of a new apartment tower project at the Calcada do Gaio in the statement. The concerned tower will measure 126 metres in height once completed. Residents used to send a letter to the Chief Executive appealing for reconsideration.

Jornal Va Kio pointed out that the Government will resolve that matter 'in the future', once the special guidelines on the NAPE project are issued.

Portuguese Prime Minister Josˆm Sˆucrates will visit Macau for two days on 2 February.

He will attend the Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum between Portugal and Macau, as well as meeting with the Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah (¦ó«pôó).

In addition, he will visit the Macau Tower, the University of Macau, the Macau Portuguese School, the Consulate-General of Portugal and the Portuguese Institute in the East (Ipor).

Sˆucrates and his company have arrived in China on 20 January for an official visit. They will stay in Beijing and Shanghai before coming to Macau.

Grand Lisboa is to open on 11 February, just before the approach of the Lunar New Year on 18 February.

In an SJM press release, CEO Stanley Ho claimed that the 1 February has consistently been the 'target date' for the construction progress of the complex.

The press release also claimed that personnel and equipments have arrived for the preparation of the inauguration.

It should be pointed out that it is the casino part of the complex, at the lower floors, that will open. The remainder of the structure will still be under construction.

A summary of news on 28 January:

Height
The height of the new building for the Central Government's Liaison Office in Macau is being adjusted, according to a statement. The new building is located at the foot of the Guia Hill, of which the proposed height may potentially block the view of the hill. The statement claimed that efforts are rendered to ensure that the height will not exceed the body of the hill.

Swimming
A naked man was found swimming at waters near the newspaper loading berth at the Macau Maritime Terminal in the afternoon. He was rescued by Customs Officers, and was suspected to have mental problems.

A summary of news on 27 January:

Hotel
Wynn Macau is to demolish the existing car park building to make way for a new 30-storey hotel. There could be a helipad for the new tower.

Underpass
The maximum speed limit for the underpass at Tap Seac Square has been set to 30 km/h, according to Macao Daily News report. The public are more concerned with how large and long vehicles are able to turn the corners of the two-lane underpass, which are almost right-angled.

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin group may open a casino in Macau, according to a report.

The Financial Times from the UK claimed that Branson met the Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah (¦ó«pôó) on Wednesday (24 January), and he will be conceded 20 hectares of land 'soon' for building a casino and resort facilities.

Virgin will invest USD 3 billion in this Macau project, which will include three hotels and a casino.

The resort is expected to open in 2010.

The FT also reported that Virgin is likely to seek for a venture with the six concessionaires and sub-concessionaires of Macau's casino operations to run the business.

This is the first time that a UK business has expressed interests in Macau's booming gaming sector, whose performance has overtaken Las Vegas in late last year.