The revamped Iec Long Firecracker Factory site in Taipa Village – a relic of Macao’s once-thriving firework industry – is due to open to the public by the end of the year.
Following a meeting of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council with Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) officials, deputy convener, Lam Ka Chun, quoted the IC officials as saying that the former factory site was handed over to the Cultural Affairs Bureau in 2020.
According to Lam, IC officials noted that the factory site consists of eight “functional” areas, such as farming, printing, and ponds. Lam quoted the officials as saying that when the site opens to visitors, signage will be set up providing them with directions to the different areas.
According to Lam, a member of the council asked during yesterday’s meeting whether virtual reality (VR) technology will be provided to those who visit the revitalised site, and also asked about the site’s old waterway as well as the colours of the external walls of the revitalised buildings on the site.
Lam quoted the IC officials as saying that the revitalisation project will focus on repairing the buildings with the aim of restoring them to their original condition. Consequently, Lam said, the buildings on the Iec Long site will be repaired in a way that is closest to their original condition as much as possible, so they will not be painted to make them look “very new” like the buildings in the Village of Our Lady in Ka Ho, a former leprosarium.
Lam also quoted the officials as saying that the site is expected to open only during the day, adding that the government has still not decided whether admission fees will be charged.
Lam also quoted the officials as mentioning the fate of the site’s former waterway, which was used to transport firecrackers from the factory to a pier on the island, which is near Rua da Ponte Negra nowadays, for delivery by boat to the Macao peninsula.
Lam said that according to the officials, the bureau will carry out on-site surveys with the aim of coming up with solutions on how best to reactivate the old waterway, considering that its flow is currently blocked, adding that such a project is also needed to tackle mosquito issues.
Lam noted that the Iec Long Firecracker Factory operated from 1926 to 1984, and the site covers 25,338 square metres.
Meanwhile, Ng Hong Kei, another deputy convener of the council, noted that the first phase of the revitalisation project will focus on repairing the three buildings that are located near the Chun Su Mei Car Park. The three buildings will be used for exhibitions and workshops, a tourism information centre, a café and a shop selling locally designed handicrafts, The Macau Post Daily reported.
