The local government is gathering opinions from members of the public about its plan to set up an international integrated tourism and cultural zone, including its proposed locations for the zone’s three major cultural facilities.
The government is proposing to build one of the three cultural facilities in an area next to Macau Tower and the other two facilities on the Zone C land reclamation area off Taipa’s Ocean Gardens residential estate.
The zone is one of the four future large-scale projects aiming to inject new impetus into Macau’s long-term development laid out by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s 2025 Policy Address, which he delivered in April this year.
The four projects comprise the Macau International Integrated Tourism and Cultural Zone, the Macau Science and Technology Research and Development Industrial Park, the Macau International Aviation Hub for the Pearl River West Bank, and the Macau-Hengqin International University City.
Sam said in his 2025 Policy Address that the international integrated tourism and cultural zone will feature “iconic and high-standard” cultural facilities with international influence, including three major cultural facilities, namely the Macau National Museum of Culture, the Macau International Centre for Performing Arts, and the International Museum of Contemporary Art.
Sam also said at that time that the government was studying the possibility of creating its international integrated tourism and cultural zone by developing waterfront areas in southern peninsula and northern Taipa.
The government started its process yesterday to gather opinions from members of the public until December 26 about its proposal for the Macau International Integrated Tourism and Cultural Zone. The zone’s planning and its ongoing public opinion collection process are implemented by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC). The full version of the zone’s concept plan, available in Chinese and Portuguese, was uploaded onto the dedicated website for the zone’s planning (www.icm.gov.mo/rd/BIITCM) yesterday.
The government has scheduled seven sessions for gathering opinions from attendees about its plan for the zone and answering their questions, comprising two sessions for members of the general public and five sessions for representatives from different segments and sectors of civil society.
The first session was held yesterday at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (aka Forum Macao Complex), attended by legislators, members of the local government’s top advisory Executive Council, Macau deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC), and Macau members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
According to the zone’s concept plan released yesterday, the government is proposing to construct the Macau National Museum of Culture on the waterfront area east of Macau Tower. The museum is planned to have a gross construction area of between 80,000 and 100,000 square metres.
The government is proposing to build the Macau International Centre for Performing Arts, with a gross construction area of between 55,000 and 65,000 square metres, on the west side of the Zone C land reclamation area off Taipa’s Ocean Gardens residential estate, while it is suggesting that the International Museum of Contemporary Art, with a gross construction area of between 35,000 and 45,000 square metres, be constructed on the east side of Zone C.
The Zone C land reclamation project was completed in late 2022. The 0.32-square-kilometre man-made island is currently still undeveloped.
Yesterday’s session was chaired by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam, with officials from several public entities attending, such as IC President Deland Leong Wai Man.
O noted that the local government commissioned China Tourism Academy (CTA), a research institute directly under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT), earlier this year to carry out a research study about the development of the Macau International Integrated Tourism and Cultural Zone.
O said that the zone’s concept plan released yesterday is the result of the CTA research achievements.
The artist’s rendition released by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows the planned Macau International Centre for Performing Arts on the west side of the Zone C land reclamation area.
This aerial photo taken earlier this year and released by the bureau yesterday shows Zone C.
