First phase to cost 55.9 million patacas
The government has already commissioned a construction company to carry out a project that will convert the Old Courthouse and the adjacent former Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in the city centre into the Court of Final Appeal (TUI).
The whole structure of the Old Courthouse will be kept intact. While a part of the façade of the former PJ headquarters will be kept intact, the other parts will be demolished for the construction of a new building.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) made the announcement on its website on Friday.
According to the announcement, the project will be carried out in two phases. The government has commissioned Soi Kun Engineering Company Limited to carry out the project’s first phase for a price tag of 55.9 million patacas. Soi Kun Engineering is owned by former lawmaker Mak Soi Kun.
The Public Works Bureau had invited seven construction company, including Soi Kun Engineering, to bid for the project’s first phase earlier this year. All seven companies submitted their respective bids, after which the government chose Soi Kun Engineering as the winning bidder, which offered the lowest price. The winning bidder is required to complete the project’s first phase in 435 working days.
According to the announcement, the project’s first phase is slated to be completed in March 2024.
The government headed by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng first announced in August 2020 that it had decided not to go ahead with the controversial project by its predecessor to redevelop the Old Courthouse in Avenida da Praia Grande into the city’s new central library and that the building, which is officially listed as a cultural heritage site under the category of “buildings with architectural interest”, would house judicial facilities such as the Court of Final Appeal.
Currently, the Court of Final Appeal shares a building with the Court of Second Instance (TSI) in the Nam Van Lake district.
The Judiciary Police moved to their current headquarters in Zape several years ago. Their former headquarters has been vacant since then.
The current government decided in 2020 to redevelop the long-abandoned Hotel Estoril near Praça do Tap Seac into the city’s new central library.
The central library is currently housed in a listed building in Praça do Tap Seac, just across the square from the old Hotel Estoril.
For the time being the government does not have a final timetable as to when the new central library project would be completed. Its construction has still not got off the ground.
Structural consolidation, renovation & demolition
According to Friday’s DSOP announcement, the whole area consisting of the Old Courthouse and the former PJ headquarters earmarked for the future Court of Final Appeal building covers 3,524 square metres.
According to the announcement, the project will keep the whole structure of the Old Courthouse intact, while it will also consolidate its structure. In addition, the project will include the renovation of the interior of the Old Courthouse, including the reorganisation of its internal layout.
According to the announcement, the façade of the former PJ headquarters on Rua do Padre Luís Fróis S.J., and its east-section façade on Rua Central, will be kept intact, while the remaining part of the former PJ headquarters will be demolished for the construction of a new building that will have three storeys plus a one-floor basement.
Friday’s announcement said that the Court of Final Appeal complex project will be carried out in two phases. The project’s first phase, according to the announcement, will include the demolition of the former PJ headquarters with a part of its façade to be kept intact, the new building’s pile foundation work and its basement.
The Old Courthouse built in 1951 initially housed Macau’s then Portuguese administration’s financial and economic services departments and later its courts. The three-story building in Portugal’s “Estado Novo” (“New State”) style has been vacant for nearly two decades and has been used for temporary exhibitions and other cultural activities in the past few years.
This photo taken on Monday night shows the Old Courthouse in Nam Van. – Photo: William Chan
This artist’s rendition taken from the Public Works Bureau’s (DSOP) website yesterday shows the design of the façade of the future Court of Final Appeal (TUI) complex on Rua Central.
