GGRAsia – Galaxy Ent to build ice rink, bookshop at Macau old shipyards

Galaxy Ent to build ice rink, bookshop at Macau old shipyards

Sep 28, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd is to help the government “revitalise” the Lai Chi Vun Shipyards in Coloane. The revamp project will be done in two phases, and will add more “tourism and leisure” elements to the area near the Coloane village, according to comments from Galaxy Entertainment’s senior executives in a Thursday media briefing.

The Macau government is responsible for preservation works related with the structure of the shipyards, government officials said at the briefing. The area has mostly been abandoned since the 1990s, when operations ceased.

Revamp works for parts of the shipyards have already been finished and were opened to the public in late June. Currently, the revamped site features an exhibition area, space for stalls selling souvenirs and a zone for busking performances.

In a first phase, Galaxy Entertainment will be adding new leisure elements to these revamped spaces at the shipyard site, said Galaxy Entertainment’s deputy chairman, Francis Lui Yiu Tung (pictured).

The first phase of the revitalisation project includes a multi-media display centre that will showcase the shipbuilding history of Lai Chi Vun, as well as space for food and drinks outlets, a performance area for local associations, and a playground for skateboarding and bicycles. The company will also create an area to host local thematic fairs, said Galaxy Entertainment’s vice-president of special projects, Winky Tse.

Mr Lui said the company intended to start the upgrade of the Lai Chi Vun Shipyards still “this year”, with the aim to complete the first phase of the project “by the third quarter of 2024″.

The second phase covers a large part of the shipyard, with the government expecting revamp and preservation works to only be completed “by the third quarter of 2026”, said the director of the city’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man.

Following the completion of the preservation effort by the government, Galaxy Entertainment will develop a synthetic ice skating rink, a space for urban agriculture, an area for local art groups, a bookshop and additional space for food and drinks, remarked Mr Tse.

Regarding the second phase of the project, Mr Lui stated: “We are having exchanges with the government on some technical aspects for the project before we can set a [completion] timetable. So, only later … we can be clear on the investment budget.”

He added: “We will try to create an offering that is suitable for residents and tourists. Shipbuilding used to be one of the … major economic pillars here, we can tell this story to our visitors, and get them engaged.”

The Macau government has asked each of the city’s six casino concessionaires to promote “community tourism” in Macau’s older neighbourhoods – many of which traditionally have received few tourists – as part of the gaming firms’ non-gaming commitments for their 10-year concessions that began in January.

MGM China Holdings Ltd is helping in Macau’s Barra district, according to a briefing earlier this month. Wynn Macau Ltd is to support the government’s pedestrianisation of Rua da Felicidade, in the old town.

Casino group Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd will take on responsibility for some new tourism and leisure elements at two waterfront sites on Macau peninsula: Pier 23 and Pier 25 within the Inner Harbour district. The group will additionally help out at the Mount Fortress, also on the peninsula.

Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd is to help revitalise several historical buildings in Avenida Almeida Ribeiro, a thoroughfare also known as San Ma Lou, as well as its surrounding areas. Sands China Ltd is tasked with revitalising the site of the old Iec Long Firecracker Factory in Taipa, Macau’s Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ao Ieong U, confirmed to reporters on Wednesday.