The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said yesterday that it has come up with a proposal for the preservation and “revitalisation” of Coloane’s Lai Chi Vun Village where about a dozen dilapidated shipyards are located.
According to the proposal, some of the shipyards would be “completely” preserved while the others would be “revitalised” based on their specific characteristics.
The bureau is proposing that the shipyards earmarked for revitalisation would be subject to demolition before being restored if architects and engineers consider the demolition to be necessary due to their unsafe condition.
Leong Wai Man, a vice president of the bureau, made the remarks at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape after a closed-door regular meeting of the government-appointed Cultural Heritage Council.
According to Leong, her bureau is proposing the preservation and revitalisation plan with the aim of classifying the village as a cultural heritage site.
The city’s official cultural sites comprise four categories, namely monuments, buildings of architectural interest, ensembles (such as compounds and complexes), and sites.
Following the announcement of its decision to launch a cultural heritage evaluation of the village in March last year, the bureau officially started the evaluation process on December 15.
Subsequently, the bureau launched a two-month public consultation in January about the ongoing cultural heritage evaluation of the village.
According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Law, the cultural heritage evaluation of a property or a site has to be completed within a year of the process getting off the ground.
The law states that during the evaluation process, the government is required to carry out a public consultation on the matter. The law also states that the government needs to consult the Cultural Heritage Council on the matter.
After the evaluation process, the government will decide whether the village will be officially classified as a cultural heritage site.
Leong noted yesterday that her bureau will have to complete the evaluation process for the village by December 15 this year. Leong added that her bureau is striving to finish the evaluation process in less than a year.
The bureau said in a statement on June 5 that most of the members of the government-appointed Cultural Heritage Council disagreed that the village should be listed as a cultural heritage site, during a regular meeting of the council, which was held behind closed doors earlier that day.
According to the statement, some of the members said during the meeting that if the village was listed as a cultural heritage site, the area’s utilisation would then have to be regulated by the Cultural Heritage Protection Law, which they said might hinder the revitalisation of the village and its old shipyards.
Following the Cultural Heritage Council’s meeting in early June, the bureau said in a special press conference that it had not yet made a final decision on whether the village should be officially classified as a cultural heritage site.
In a regular meeting of the council in April last year, which was open to the media, all attendees agreed that the government should launch a cultural heritage evaluation of the village
Leong said yesterday that her bureau was proposing that three shipyards would be “completely” preserved. She described the three shipyards as being in relatively good condition.
Nine other shipyards would be “revitalised”, based on their specific characteristics, according to Leong.
According to the document on the two-month public consultation, which ended in March, about the ongoing cultural heritage evaluation of the village, among the nine shipyards earmarked for revitalisation, some are posing safety threats and some have already collapsed, while the others are in an “acceptable” condition.
The future of the village has become a cause célèbre among cultural heritage activists.
The Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) demolished two badly dilapidated shipyards in the village on March 8 last year.
According to the proposal presented by the bureau yesterday, the two plots where the two demolished shipyards are located would also be “revitalised”, Leong said.
According to Leong, the mangroves outside the shipyards would also be preserved.
Heritage and environmental protection activists say that the mangroves started to grow outside the shipyards after the shipbuilding industry gradually dwindled away in the early 2000s.
Also speaking to reporters yesterday, IC President Mok Ian Ian said her bureau had come up with the preservation and revitalisation plan after evaluating residents’ views collected during the two-month public consultation together with professional opinions raised by some members of the Cultural Heritage Council.
Mok reaffirmed that her bureau will carry out a string of tasks concerning the preservation and revitalisation of the village in accordance with its aim of classifying the village as a cultural heritage site.
Leong said that currently her bureau did not have a final position as to whether the shipyards earmarked for revitalisation should be completely or partly demolished.
This file photo taken last year shows cars parked in front of old shipyards in Coloane’s Lai Chi Vun Village. Photos: Tony Wong
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) Vice President Leong Wai Man speaks to reporters at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape yesterday.
