The government’s Cultural Development Fund has rolled out a programme providing subsidies for owners of private buildings that are officially listed as a cultural heritage site with the aim of encouraging them to carry out regular maintenance and repairs on the buildings.
In addition to properties that have already been officially classified as cultural heritage sites, the subsidy programme also covers private buildings that the government is proposing to list as officially-protected cultural heritage sites.
The fund made the announcement in a statement on Friday, according to which the subsidy programme also covers other private buildings that are not officially-protected cultural heritage sites but are regarded as being of “special cultural value”.
Potential beneficiaries can now submit their applications until January 12 next year, according to the statement.
According to the statement, the programme will pay out subsidies totalling 20 million patacas. Each beneficiary will receive a subsidy equivalent to 50 percent of the cost required to repair or maintain the respective building, with a maximum subsidy amount of two million patacas.
Under normal circumstances, according to the statement, applications can only be filed by the owners of the respective buildings. However, the statement said that if the ownership of the respective property is unknown, or if the owner of the respective building cannot be contacted, the applications can be filed by the respective building’s occupant or user.
This poster provided by the Cultural Development Fund last week explains its subsidy programme for maintenance and repairs of privately-owned historic buildings.
