Consultative Committee on Municipal Affairs and Community Service Consultative Committee both endorse revitalisation plan of Tamagnini Barbosa Market and conceptual proposal of Children’s Exploration Pavilion

MACAU, October 13 - The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) introduced the revitalisation plan of Tamagnini Barbosa Market and the conceptual proposal of Children’s Exploration Pavilion in Avenida de Venceslau de Morais to Consultative Committee on Municipal Affairs and Community Service Consultative Committee separately and listened to their respective opinions. Both Consultative Committees expressed their endorsement of the mentioned projects. They believed that the introduction of a cooked food area to Tamagnini Barbosa Market can increase the vibrancy of the market and people flow; and they hoped that the proposal of the Children’s Exploration Pavilion can be actualised as soon as possible to provide a high-quality indoor play space for the children and adolescents in Macao. IAM will continue to listen to the opinions of the community, so as to deepen the design of the mentioned projects, make progress and actualise them in an orderly manner.

Addition of cooked food area in Tamagnini Barbosa Market facilitates increase of customers and committee members call for minimised impact on stall vendors during construction

Both Consultative Committees agreed that the revitalisation plan, which involves the improvement and beautification of the spatial layout, installation of additional lifts, improvement of the sewerage and ventilation systems and adoption of a design separating dry and wet areas, as well as relocation of the characteristic snack stalls located on the ground floor to the newly established cook food area on the first floor and the addition of 150 seats for dining, should be carried out on the premise of no major construction and demolition works to pragmatically respond to the needs of stall vendors. They also agreed that the new environment can attract more enthusiastic stall operators and increase vibrancy to the sustainable development of the market, and the planned connection to the footbridge linking the car park of Edifício Toi Fai and the future public sports park facilitates the increase of people flow entering the market. Meanwhile, the committees suggested IAM to extend the operating hours of the cooked food area, so as to serve more customers. In addition, committee members were also concerned with the construction arrangements and believed that adopting a proposal with a shorter construction period, during which stall vendors need to relocate only once, is more appropriate. They also believed that IAM has to maintain contact with the affected stall vendors to minimise the impact on them.

Committees hope Children’s Exploration Pavilion can be completed as soon as possible and concerned with future operation and management

As the proportion of school-aged children in Northern District is high and there has always been a lack of large-scale children’s play facilities in the district, the members of the two committees welcome IAM’s plan to build the Children’s Exploration Pavilion in Avenida de Venceslau de Morais. They believed the plan shows that the government adheres to the principle of prioritising children and satisfying the actual needs and requests of the children and parents in the district. They also believe the proposed all-weather indoor play facility, which comprises both dynamic and static facilities and serves children in various age groups from babies and toddlers to adolescents, facilitates the diversified mental and physical development of children. They hoped that the concept proposal can be implemented smoothly as soon as possible. Committee members believed that the diversified and abundant play facilities of the Children’s Exploration Pavilion can attract a large number of parents and school children, and suggested that a venue management format has to be formulated early on after the implementation of the plan. Admission by appointment, entry by time sessions and other crowd control measures can be considered to effectively maintain the day-to-day operation of the venue. Furthermore, facilities should be well managed so that children can play in a safe and comfortable venue.

IAM representatives thanked the committee members for their suggestions and responded to the suggestions of the committee members one by one. IAM representatives stated that they will continue to listen to opinions, implement and refine the content of the proposals in an orderly manner, so that the revitalisation plan of Tamagnini Barbosa Market and the establishment of Children’s Exploration Pavilion in Avenida de Venceslau de Morais can better suit the needs of the public of Macao.