Reform process ready to take off

The public tender for the architecture design plan for the remodelling of the old Hotel Estoril will be launched “the next week or at the end of the month” the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam said yesterday.
Speaking at the sidelines of the PATA Travel Mart trade show Mr. Tam informed that after the submitted design projects to be developed in the abandoned hotel are evaluated and the project awarded, the government will focus on the construction tender.
The government intends to develop a future youth recreation centre and performance spaces for the Macau Conservatory at the building near Tap Seac Square.
In April 2015 the MSAR government stated the reconstruction project would be granted directly to Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, opting to change to a public tender process one year later.
On July of last year the Urban Planning Committee allowed a future development in the building to demolish the building’s facade, including the mosaic created by Italian sculptor Oseo Acconci, with the decision remaining under the Director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT).
When questioned why it took almost a year since the building project was approved by the committee, Mr. Tam responded that the project required the cooperation of three services – the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), the Culture Bureau and the Sports Bureau – while also requiring Chinese and Portuguese language material and translation.
Hotel Estoril was built in 1962 by local gambling tycoon Stanley Ho and has been abandoned since the 90s, with the government’s plans to renew the building meeting with opposition by some society groups.
Associations such as the New Macau Association and city planners association Macau Root Planning have requested that the building and its mosaic facade should be preserved, with the Cultural Bureau stating that the building wouldn’t be considered cultural heritage.