A Legislative Assembly (AL) member has urged the government in a written interpellation to revitalise the site of the erstwhile Jockey Club in Taipa as a multi-purpose venue for leisure, recreation and sports activities, but Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man said yesterday that “there are no plans yet” by the government for the site’s revitalisation.
Lawmaker-cum-civil engineer Leong Hong Sai raised the issue in a written interpellation in late August, with three questions – “Would the government consider including the Jockey Club site in its planning regarding the implementation of its development strategy of increasing and enhancing leisure facilities for the public?”; “Would the government take the former greyhound racetrack (Yat Yuen Canidrome) as a blueprint to develop the area into a multi-functional venue for leisure and entertainment, sports and physical activities?”; “Would the government retain some of the existing facilities and cooperate with neighbouring regions to develop equestrian sports or horse riding lessons, so as to promote Macau’s diversified sports and entertainment culture?”.
On January 15 this year, the government signed an agreement with the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) according to which the MJC concession contract was terminated with effect from April 1. Its last races took place on March 30. Established in 1989, the Macau Jockey Club finally stopped operating, the same as the greyhound races at Yat Yuen Canidrome, ending Macau’s two-century-long history of horse racing.
Following the return of the former MJC plot of land to the government, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng pledged early this year that the site covering hundreds of thousands of square metres would be developed into a multi-purpose activity venue.
Replying to the lawmaker’s written interpellation in a statement last month, Cheong Chok Man, director of the government’s Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau (DSEPDR), reaffirmed that there was no specific development plan for the site’s future arrangement, underlining that the compilation of a detailed plan would be outlined only after listening to the views of all sectors of the community and considering the respective plans by the relevant public entities.
The reply also quoted the responses from several public entities, among which the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said that it has kept on optimising the city’s cultural and sports facilities, striving to promote the conversion and utilisation of historical and cultural resources, and creating more space for the revitalisation of historical buildings, while the Sports Bureau (ID) said that it has continued to set up more sports facilities for residents through different channels, and already has improved the respective software and hardware supporting facilities at various levels.
When asked by a reporter on the sidelines of yesterday’s kick-off ceremony of the “Encounter in Macau – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries” at the Taipa Houses, Leong reaffirmed that “we don’t have any plans yet” to revitalise the site of the former Jockey Club.
Meanwhile, DSEPDR Director Cheong stressed in the statement that the government has always attached great importance to optimising residents’ work and living environment, adding that in line with Macau’s urban development master plan (2020-2040), the government has scientifically determined the scale and spatial layout of the city and coordinated the planning of land use.
This file photo taken in May shows part of the former Macau Jockey Club site in Taipa. – Photo: Yuki Lei
