VZCZCXRO2955
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #1246 1890918
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080918Z JUL 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8029
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS HONG KONG 001246 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV ETRD MO HK
SUBJECT: CHINA GRANTS LAND LEASE FOR NEW UNIVERSITY OF 
MACAU CAMPUS 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The University of Macau (UM) is set to 
benefit from a unique arrangement that will allow it to build 
a new campus on nearby Hengqin Island.  The Macau SAR 
government will have jurisdiction over the new campus, 
despite its location in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.  Macau 
Chief Executive Edmund Ho noted in a press statement that the 
university's decision-making autonomy over educational and 
governance issues would be fully retained.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Standing Committee of China's National People's 
Congress (NPC) on June 27 passed a bill allowing Macau to 
lease 1.1 square kilometers of land on Hengqin Island in the 
Zhuhai District of Guangdong Province.  Located directly 
across a narrow waterway from the Cotai area of Macau, the 
land will be used to construct a new UM campus at an 
estimated cost of USD 750 million (MOP 6 billion).  That 
amount excludes the cost to construct a planned tunnel 
linking Macau to the new campus.  Macau's Secretary for 
Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io stated during a press 
conference that construction of the campus and tunnel is 
anticipated to be completed by the end of 2012.  That 
timeframe may be aggressive, according to a senior UM 
official who told EconOff on July 6 that architectural plans 
for several key campus buildings have not yet been finalized. 
 
¶3. (U) As a condition to the land lease agreement ending on 
December 19, 2049 (the date when Macau's Special 
Administrative Region status is also set to expire), Macau's 
jurisdiction over the property will commence only upon 
completion of the campus' buildings and transportation 
infrastructure. According to unidentified sources of the 
Macau Post (Macau's leading English-language newspaper), the 
new UM campus will be "completely separated from the rest of 
Hengqin Island by a moat."  This will reportedly enable the 
tunnel connecting Macau with the new campus to operate 
without immigration checkpoints.  UM Rector Zhao Wei said the 
new campus will have a minimum capacity of 10,000 students, 
compared with UM's current enrollment of 6,600 students.  It 
will allow UM to expand its academic offerings, open three 
new research and development centers, and construct 
dormatories for students. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho on June 27 publicly 
described the lease agreement as a "lavish gift" from Beijing 
that "fully reflects the superiority of the 'one country, two 
systems' policy."  Payment terms under the Hengqin Island 
land lease have not yet been disclosed.  A UM professor 
recently told EconOff that execution of the lease was delayed 
by several months, due to Beijing's reluctance to grant UM 
leaders an acceptable degree of decision-making autonomy over 
the university's policies and other affairs.  Addressing this 
issue, Ho said the central government agreed to allow the new 
UM campus to be run in accordance with Macau's laws and 
regulations, including the university's "right to autonomy." 
DONOVAN