The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) underlines that after gathering and assessing opinions and suggestions from various segments of civil society, it is still improving and finalising the design of its youth adventure camp project near Coloane’s Hac Sa Beach, before announcing the details “in due course”.
The bureau has yet to reveal when it expects construction to finally get off the ground after first announcing the large-scale project in 2023.
The bureau made the remarks about the latest progress of its project’s design in a reply to a written interpellation made by indirectly-elected lawmaker-cum-unionist Lei Chan U early last month. The bureau made and signed the reply on Wednesday last week, the copy of which was released by Lei’s office to the media yesterday.
The reply was signed by the bureau’s newly appointed president, Chao Wai Ieng, who took office on New Year’s Day.
In his written interpellation, Lei pointed out that the bureau was aiming in late 2023 to complete the final design of its youth adventure camp project, covering 100,000 square metres, in the first half of 2024 after which its construction could start.
In his written interpellation submitted in early December last year, Lei noted that, however, Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon told reporters in September 2024 that the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) was carrying out an archaeological investigation in the area earmarked for the camp project with the aim of confirming whether there were archaeological relics on the site and that the investigation was then slated to be completed by the end of 2024.
Lei asked the government about the progress of the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s archaeological investigation and when it expects to announce details of the camp project’s final design.
In its reply to Lei’s written interpellation, the Municipal Affairs Bureau quoted the Cultural Affairs Bureau as saying that the area’s archaeological investigation was completed in October 2024, with no archaeological relics having been discovered, after which the site had already been returned to the Municipal Affairs Bureau the next month.
The reply said that after listening to opinions and suggestions from various segments of civil society, IAM officials are now improving and finalising the design of the youth adventure camp project, which aims to create an outdoor training base for young people to engage in adventures as well as a space for those of all ages to enjoy diverse leisure activities.
The reply underlined that the government will announce details of its youth adventure camp project’s final design in due course.
When the government announced the large-scale youth adventure camp project in 2023, it said that it was aiming to reduce its total construction cost to a level lower than its preliminary estimate of 1.4 billion patacas, pledging the government would anyhow ensure that the project would not cost more than 1.4 billion patacas.
The government first planned in 2020 to develop a large plot of idle land between Hac Sa Beach and the nearby hillside into a recreational area, which was then planned to cover seven hectares, i.e., 70,000 square metres, with a budget of only 229 million patacas.
However, the government announced in 2023 that it had decided to upgrade its original 2020 plan to a new proposal to build a large-scale youth adventure camp there, covering 10 hectares, i.e., 100,000 square metres, with the aim of providing a base for young people to improve their physical strength, as well as a venue for the organisation of team-building games.
This artist’s rendition provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) shows an area for adventure sport including a skatepark in the future youth adventure camp near Coloane’s Hac Sa Beach.
