Some of the empty stilt houses in Coloane should be renovated so that they could become cultural and creative products shops, Islands Community Services Consultative Committee member Ku Man Tai said, adding that the renewal project would be a good way to boost tourism.
Ku is a board member of the Macau Islands Industrial and Commercial Association.
The committee held a meeting with government officials including Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) Vessels and Crew Department Chief Lei Veng Seng at a community centre run by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) in Rua da Ponte Negra in Taipa on Tuesday.
Addressing the meeting, Ku pointed out that there are about 20 stilt houses in the area near the Coloane ferry pier, most of which have been empty for a while. “The remaining stilt houses are either restaurants or dried food shops. There are not many [shopping] choices for tourists [in the area],” Ku said, adding the government should consider allowing residents to operate hostels in some of Coloane’s village houses.
Meanwhile, asked by reporters about the long-delayed Macau-Guangdong individual yacht travel scheme after the meeting, Lei said he was confident that the scheme will be launched within the first half of this year, adding that according to the Zhongshan side its Shenwan Town Marina is going through its final checks.
DSAMA Director Susana Wong Soi Man had previously told the press she expected the scheme to get off the ground by the end of 2015.
In mid-2013, the governments of Macau and Zhongshan signed an agreement to provide floating docks for visitors to moor their yachts.
Zhongshan’s Shenwan Town Marina will be the first of its kind in the mainland open to yachts from Macau. A 24/7 immigration checkpoint will be set up at Coloane pier to accommodate yacht crews arriving from Zhongshan, which lies some 40 kilometres north of Macau.
(macaunews/macaupost)
