The government will launch a two-month public consultation on Monday about the ongoing cultural heritage evaluation of Coloane’s Lai Chi Vun Village and its traditional shipyards.
A press conference about the public consultation was held at the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) in Praça do Tap Seac.
The public consultation will end on March 22. Three public sessions will be held during the consultation period.
The bureau announced during a special press conference in March last year that it decided to initiate a cultural heritage evaluation of the village and its shipyards.
The announcement came one week after an ad-hoc concern group for the preservation of the village and its shipyards petitioned the bureau to start an evaluation process.
According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Law which came into force in March 2014, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, other government entities, as well as the owner or owners of the respective properties can initiate the cultural heritage evaluation of an immovable property.
Individuals can also suggest the cultural heritage evaluation of an immovable property,
according to the law.
The Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) announced in January last year that 11 dilapidated ship-yards in the village were earmarked for demolition starting in March last year.
The bureau demolished two badly dilapidated shipyards on March 8 last year.
Addressing the press conference, IC Acting Vice President Leong Wai Man noted that the cultural heritage evaluation of a property has to be completed within a year after the evaluation process gets off the ground.
Leong noted that as the evaluation process for the village and its shipyards has been underway since December 15; its evaluation process would have to be finished by the end of this year.
Leong said that her bureau was confident that it can finish the evaluation process in less than a year.
According to The Macau Post Daily , shipyards began to be built in the village in the 1950s.
Historical documents show that the village on the western shore of Coloane gradually emerged in the middle of the 19th century, the document says.
The shipbuilding activities in the village started to decrease in the 1990s, and the last boat was built there in 2006, the document notes.
The document notes that shipbuilding, alongside the incense, firecracker and match industries, were Macau’s four traditional industries for many decades.
Lai Chi Vun Village is among the most complete heritage site of traditional shipbuilding in southern China, the document points out.
According to the consultation document, there were initially 16 shipyards in the village, including those which have already collapsed and the two shipyards demolished by the Marine and Water Bureau last year.
The document notes that there are now 12 old shipyards remaining in the village.
