Fisherman's Harbour
By Cristy, Luisa Iong

The waterfront to be reclaimed for the construction of the Fisherman's Harbour.

The construction of the Fisherman's Harbour has been underway since September 15. It is anticipated that the HK$800-million Harbour will bring a favourable revenue to Macao and, at the same time, provide job opportunities to more than 2,500 workers. 

The site of the project is located at the former Terminal Harbour at Avenida da Amizade, between the Macau Palace Casino and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, covering more than 61,000 square metres. The site is now clearly circled by piles of rocks, waiting for land reclamation. It is estimated that the initial construction alone would require about 2,000 workers. 

Two famous tycoons of Macao are the chief investors of the project with the support of the Macao Government. The idea was based on some huge tourism projects in Western countries. In March, Chao Kum Fai, a member of the current legislature and well-known businessman, first presented his idea to the government. And, unexpectedly, two months later, Dr. Stanley Ho, the gambling king of the city, presented a similar suggestion to the government as well; only the amount of investment and the magnitude of the project differed. Thus the two initiators had to negotiate to carry out the project jointly.

After the formation of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the city has entered a new era of autonomy. It is no longer a colony; nevertheless, it is definitely not an easy task to combat the economic downturn in the global recession. There is an urgency to seek a breakthrough in the decay. The Fisherman's Harbour is the first gigantic investment programme since the formation of the Macao SAR. The whole project, including more than 50 facilities, will take a year and half to complete. 

Ao Man-long, secretary for Macao Transport and Public Work, claimed that building huge tourist facilities is beneficial for the development of tourism and economy in Macao. Therefore, the government hopes that the project will start as soon as possible.

The so-called Fisherman's Harbour is actually a magnificent series of tourist spots, where tourists can spend at least six hours sightseeing. The overall design gives the impression of a mixture of the East and the West. Amid the most outstanding structure is an archaistic building imitating a Chinese alcazar. Inside, there is an exhibition displaying Chinese antique, Chinese tea culture and so on that sufficiently expose the traditional Chinese culture. Next to it, there will be a harbour imitating the hue of European castles. Where the two structures are divided, there will be primitive volcanoes and enormous waterfalls. It is expected that the new harbour will be open to tourists 18 hours a day after the completion.