The new Government Historical Archives Building in Taipa’s Pac On district was inaugurated by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng yesterday.
The government’s storage of its historical archives is carried out by the Archives of Macao, a unit under the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC).
The Archives of Macao is headquartered in Praça do Tap Seac, where government historical archives are currently stored.
The high-rise in Pac On inaugurated yesterday is a new facility to be used by the Archives of Macao for storing government historical archives.
Construction of the 13-storey building, with a one-level underground carpark, was completed in September last year.
After the Public Works Bureau (DSOP), the public entity tasked with organising and overseeing public construction projects, transferred the newly completed building to the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the latter carried out the design of the building’s internal decoration before launching a public tender in early October this year for the decoration project.
Speaking to reporters after the inauguration ceremony, IC President Deland Leong Wai Man said that the building’s internal decoration is expected to get off the ground in the second quarter of next year.
Leong said that after the completion of its decoration, the building could come into use in 2026, when the Archives of Macao will start relocating government historical archives from its headquarters in Praça do Tap Seac to the new building.
According to the DSOP website, the Government Historical Archives Building’s construction, which got off the ground in June2021, cost 330.77 million patacas.
Leong also said that after the Archives of Macao’s headquarters in Praça do Tap Seac is no longer used for storing government historical archives in the future, it will continue to operate as an education and exhibition facility with the aim of enabling members of the public to gain a better understanding of the importance of preserving historical archives.
The new Government Historical Archives Building has a gross construction area of 55,309 square metres, while its net floor area amounts to 40,269 square metres.
According to the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the new building provides an area of 34,074 square metres that can be used for storing government historical archives, while the Archives of Macao’s headquarters in Praça do Tap Seac only has an area of 1,464 square metres used for the purpose.
Lou Hong Wai, who heads the Archives of Macao, told guests after the ceremony that the new building is expected to be able to provide sufficient space for storing government historical archives for the next three decades.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (third from right) unveils the inaugural plaque of the Government Historical Archives Building in Taipa’s Pac On districtyesterday as other guests such as Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture(third from left) and Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man (second from left) look on. – Photos: Tony Wong
A car drives past the new Government Historical Archives Building in Pac On yesterday.
