Mong-Há Sports Center, the newest sports facility in Macau, will be ready to open its doors to the public by the end of this year, the president of Sports Bureau (ID), Pun Weng Kun announced yesterday on the sidelines of a Sports Council meeting.
Questioned by the media on the topic, Pun replied, saying, “According to the information we possess, the construction works will conclude in June this year. After that, there are a series of procedures to be followed for a final inspection. We hope that at the end of this year we can open the facility to the public.”
The ID president also noted that the facility will be mostly used by the public.
“We already have a plan [for the usage] of this facility that considers 70% for the use of the public and 30% for entities [such as clubs and associations] for the organization of competitions. We hope that the public can enjoy this facility.”
The Mong-Há Sports Center was built on the land plot of the former Mong-Há Sports Pavilion, which closed doors in 2011 to give way to the new structure which has a much higher capacity.
Due to the bankruptcy of the building contractor that won the tender for the construction, in 2016 the Macau government finally retrieved the site and retendered the construction together with the second phase of the nearby Public Housing of Mong-Há project.
Construction of the new sports facility resumed in 2017, is now expected to conclude in June this year.
Sports associations see subsidy cuts
Subsidies given to local sports associations to hold local competitions and events has been reduced by between 8 and 10%.
“This year we will contribute less [subsidies] since there will be fewer activities in the yearly plan. The decrease of around 8 to 10% is in comparison to the regular amount of subsidies contributed in previous years,” the ID president said, attributing the reduction in the number and size of some of the activities normally held to the pandemic.
As for the main goals of the year, in terms of the participation of local athletes in competitions, Pun noted that this year there will be delegations from Macau participating in the National Games of China as well as China’s Paralympic Games, the 2021 Summer World University Games, and the 2021 Asian Youth Games – events at which Macau wishes to be represented by its best. The ID is coordinating to ensure that local athletes receive the best possible preparation, as a result.
The president also noted that in case the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan go ahead, a local delegation is also being readied to participate.
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