Concept proposals for Grand Prix museum presented

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has presented a number of new concept proposals for the update of the Macau Grand Prix Museum last week, detailing its plan for the remodeling project. After an engineering evaluation, it was decided that the building should be remodeled while maintaining its core structure, as opposed to being rebuilt.
MGTO director Helena de Senna Fernandes, deputy director Cheng Wai Tong, engineer Diamantino Torrado and architect Filipe Coutinho met with the media at the Tourism Activities Centre last week, where they unveiled the remodeling project plan.
MGTO intends to remodel the entire five-storey building of the Tourism Activities Center into the Macau Grand Prix Museum, according to a statement released by MGTO. Once the remodeling is complete, the total floor area of the museum will be expanded by six times to a total of 16,000 square meters.
According to the same statement, MGTO has calculated preliminary costs for the remodeling based on current market prices, amounting to approximately MOP19,000 per square meter or MOP304 million in total.
MGTO wrote in the statement that the remodeling project mainly consists of a “consultation service for an electrical and mechanical equipment plan, a fire protection plan, an air conditioning and ventilation system plan, a structural plan, water supply, drainage and a piping system plan.”
Among those outlined, the office has only completed the public tender for the consultation service. The other areas will be opened for tender some time early next year, according to MGTO’s expectations, with the hope that the museum will be opened to the public by the end of 2018.
The museum will feature a racing vehicle display, a movie theatre, a wax figure display, a cultural and creative zone as well as an interactive family zone, all with the aim of raising awareness of and interest in the Grand Prix event among residents and tourists. DB