Gov’t to build heritage exhibition hall beside Ruins of St. Paul’s

A plan to build the Macau World Heritage Exhibition Hall beside the Ruins of St Paul’s is underway, Leong Wai Man, vice chairman of the Cultural Heritage Committee and director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau announced yesterday.

In the committee’s sixth plenary meeting of the year, Leong said the building will be three and a half storeys high, with a construction area of about 7,600 square meters and a stepped back design that can “better respect the height of Ruins of St. Paul’s.”

The design will include a walking trail on the building’s roof.

Upon completion, the premises will relate to the Ruins of Saint Paul’s, the Mount Fortress, the Archaeological Remains of the Pit in Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro.

The exhibition hall’s height fully complies with construction requirements in the core area of the historical city, said Leong.

The official said authorities continue to have close contact with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Both parties agree it is important to promote the universal value of Macau’s World Heritage and believe the exhibition hall construction is significant to better protect and promote Macau.

“The Historic Centre of Macao,” composed of over 20 monuments and urban squares interwoven in the heart of the city, was added to the World Heritage List in 2005. lv