The majority of the Cultural Advisory Committee agree that the government should kick off construction of the city’s new central library as soon as possible.
The Committee held a general meeting yesterday afternoon at the Tourism Activities Centre where most of its members said they support the new library being located inside the old court building.
But they urged the government to provide a detailed plan on the revamping project, including a list of all construction costs, for the public to review.
One of the supporting members was local architect Carlos dos Santos Marreiros. He perceives that the government has had taken too long to start the construction of the new central library – the plan for which has been discussed and researched since 2006.
He commented that the old court building is no longer appropriate for the use of the city’s judiciary.
In addition, the architect perceives the allocated budget of MOP900 million (US$112.7 million) for building the new central library to be appropriate, given the old court building occupies some 33,000 square metres.
Nevertheless, Marrerios noted the government should provide more transparent information on the total renovation costs of the project in addition to explaining the rationale for the budget to the public.
Getting there
In addition, the committee member suggested the government also consider solutions in order to provide more parking spaces in the building so that more visitors could be accommodated in the future.
But Ung Vai Meng, president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, said: “Given the new central library is located in the central area of the city, which means that most of the people in Macau can have easy access to public transportation, the issue of a lack of car parking spaces is not the major concern here”.
Fellow member Ambrose So Shu Fai, CEO of gaming operator Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), agreed in the meeting that renovation works for the old court building should be started as soon as possible.
In addition, he said the government should clearly explain to society the reason why the old court building was chosen to be the site for the new central library.
