The frenetic pace of hotel building in Macau eased in the third quarter, even before the latest credit crisis shocks took effect. Eighteen hotel properties were under development in the third quarter, three fewer than the equivalent quarter last year, Macau’s Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau said.
Total floor capacity for the current projects will be 172,000 square meters, a 7.8 percent drop from the equivalent period last year. The new hotels will provide 11,700 parking spaces and 22,800 rooms, or a 3.5 per cent decline. Thirty-five hotel projects set to provide 33,600 new rooms and 14,900 parking spaces are pending approval. The bureau also said there were 112 private building projects under construction in the third quarter, providing more than 9,800 private flats and more than 550 commercial units. Another 259 private building projects were pending approval.