The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, told legislators today that the Government was looking for suitable land to build more housing for the people, in addition to the 19,000 public housing units being built and the plan for another 6,300 reserve units.

It is estimated that some 43,000 housing units could be built on the five plots of land newly reclaimed from the sea, the first lot of which could be completed in two years.

The Chief Executive disclosed this when he made the first of his twice a year visits to the plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly, where he answered questions from 24 legislators on a wide range of subjects from housing to labour, higher education and inflation.

“Homes for all in a contented society” is fundamental to Macao’s housing policy, Mr Chui said, and pledged that no casino will be built on the reclaimed plots.

In response to the idea of reserving land for Macao people only, Mr Chui said it was a new concept and worthy of further studies on its pros and cons. The Government would conduct public consultation when the results of these studies are available.

On inflation, Mr Chui said statistics suggest that inflation this year will be below 6%, and the Government will open up more markets to import different commodities to Macao, monitor markets, release more information on prices of commodities and to review related laws on consumers’ protection.

On higher education, he said the University of Macao on Hengqin Island would be able to train more professionals following the completion of the new campus, to meet the needs of diversification of Macao’s economy.

Meanwhile, the Government was actively establishing a comprehensive human resources database: he suggested that the database should include the whole region in the study, and the demand for human resources in the next five years.

Facing the needs of different fields and the population of Macao, the Government would soon launch a policy on continuing education for the people to help enhancement in their careers.

Mr Chui said that lack of human resources, shortage of land and having a single industry are restricting Macao’s long-term development.

More problems on human resources will surface following more large-scale projects to be completed in 2016; hence the Government should make a good plan for long-term benefit, including recruiting non-local talents who are studying in Macao.