Central Library completion date uncertain

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, said yesterday at the Legislative Assembly that there is not yet a concrete date for the completion of the new central library project.

The reply was to an inquiry on the topic by lawmaker Ron Lam who asked the Secretary if the library would be ready to open to the public by 2026.

“We need to wait for the decision of the tender [for the construction]. Only later can we have a date for the conclusion,” Ao Ieong said, adding, “It is not realistic to think that with the closing of the public tender for construction we can immediately have a real date for the conclusion but, at least [after this process is concluded] we can at least have a clearer idea about when the project will be finished.”

The design of the new Central Library, to be built on the land plot currently occupied by the former Hotel Estoril in Tap Seac, was attributed to a proposal submitted by the Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo almost two years ago. However, the tendering process for the construction has not yet concluded.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), which is in charge of the project, said they expect that the construction could be undertaken within the previously announced estimated budget of MOP500 million.

At the same time, the former president of IC, Mok Ian Ian, also said that she hoped the library would be able to open its doors at the end of 2024 or at the start of 2025, dates that now are more likely to not be met.