The Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture has shelved its controversial plan to open a Portuguese restaurant in one of the five mansions in the Taipa-Houses Museum complex, according to a statement by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) yesterday.
The statement said an inter-departmental working group under the purview of the secretariat had decided to shelve the plan as it triggered a “heated discussion” in civil society, namely because of fears that the environment around the museum would be damaged by a restaurant in the area.
The statement also said that the mansion would remain a venue for tourism-related events.
This photo taken last month shows the five mansions of the Taipa-Houses Museum under renovation. Photo: Tony Wong
