The government has announced that it wishes to create a designated cultural exhibition area in the Mong Ha district.
The area includes 12 Portuguese-style villa homes, four of which are independent units located on Rua Francisco Xavier Pereira and comprise a total area of around 7,200 square metres.
“The government officials who lived there returned to Portugal after the handover. They [the homes] have been idle for 16 years now,” Alexis Tam, the secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, told TDM. “We believe that if we renovate them, they can be used again.”
The structure of the houses remain intact and the government believes that they would not be too difficult to restore. In addition, the houses are currently public property, so there are no ownership issues involved.
“We hope to turn them into a tourist attraction to enable visitors to experience the life of Portuguese people in the past, as well as the life of Macau people at present,” Mr Tam said.
“These are very good tourist resources and [can eventually become] tourist products.”
The details for the plan will be unveiled by the end of the year.
(macaunews/macaudailytimes)
