The Macau SAR government has terminated the land lease for the almost 15,000 square meters land plot where the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel, closed since 2016, is located.
According to documents accessed by MNA, the Land and Urban Construction Bureau initiated procedures on September 17 of this year to terminate the concession held by Empresa Hoteleira de Macau, Limitada for its 14,918 square meters land plot in Avenida Padre Tomás Pereira and Caminho das Hortas in Taipa where the hotel is located.
The department cited provisions in Macau Land Law that allow for the SAR government to terminate lease concessions and reclaim them to public ownership in cases ‘when the use of the land deviates from the purposes for which has been granted’.
The closed integrated resort in Taipa has been entangled in several controversies and incidents in past years.
The 500-room property first opened as a 5-star New Century Hotel in 1992, later renamed as Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel in 2013.
Its Greek Mythology casino was first shut down by the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) in 2015, with the Macau Government Tourism Office ordered a temporary closure of the casino’s hotel in 2016 due to “serious administrative irregularities” and “illegal reconstructions”.
The hotel’s license was subsequently revoked in January 2017 and the property remained closed until now.
Later the hotel faced a long-term ownership dispute between Empresa Hoteleira – owned by junket Amax chairman Ng Man Sun – and Victory Success – a company owned by former junket operator Suncity Group Holdings Limited CEO Alvin Chau Cheok Wa.
In 2018 the Macau Court of Second Appeal (TSI) sustained a decision in favor of Empresa Hoteleira de Macau in its legal action to regain temporary ownership of the hotel, and the year after it applied to redevelop the hotel facilities.
The redevelopment would see the new ground floor development moved back at least two meters from its current location while the two new buildings would face height restrictions of between 70 meters to a maximum of 140 meters.
At the time the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) announced it would collect opinions about the draft planning from the public until July 18 and submit the draft to the Urban Planning Committee for approval.
However, suddenly the DSSOPT informed that the owners of Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel had cancelled their application to redevelop the property, with no justification provided.
For several years Amax International unsuccessfully attempted to contact Greek Mythology casino’s former owner, Greek Mythology (Macau) Entertainment Group Corporation Ltd., and in 2018 decided to write off its 24.8 per cent stake to local Macau investment firm, Fu Po International Limited, for just HK$38,000 ($4900).
