1st phase, demolition & basement to cost up to 89.98 million patacas

The government announced yesterday that its new central library project will be carried out in two phases, with the first phase to demolish the derelict Hotel Estoril and carry out the new library building’s pile foundation and basement work, a tender for which has been launched.

According to yesterday’s announcement, the quotations for the project’s first phase submitted by seven bidders range from 69.78 million patacas to 89.98 million patacas.

The winning bidder, which the government is yet to decide and announce, will be required to complete the project’s first phase in 450 working days after the government has commissioned it.

After the first phase’s completion, the library project’s second phase, namely superstructure work, will start, for which the government is yet to launch a tender.

Yesterday’s announcement means that the government’s new central library project has entered its construction tendering process, a few years after the government decided in 2020 to redevelop the long-abandoned Hotel Estoril opposite Praça do Tap Seac into the city’s new central library. The government then invited four architectural design teams – from Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland – to submit concept designs for the project, after which the government announced in 2021 that it had chosen the concept design from the Netherlands’ Mecanoo team for the central library project.

The Dutch team’s concept design proposes to relocate the mosaic mural on the old Hotel Estoril’s façade to the future library building’s atrium, while the other three teams all proposed to keep it on the future library’s façade.

The city’s central library is currently housed in a listed building in Praça do Tap Seac, just across the square from the long-defunct Hotel Estoril.

When announcing its new central library project on the former Hotel Estoril plot in 2020, the government was aiming to complete the project in 2024 at the earliest.

The government said in 2020 that the library project was preliminarily estimated to cost 500 million patacas.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said last year that the government was aiming to invite construction bids for its new central library project in 2024.

The bureau also said last year that it had still been unable to come up with a more exact budget for the library project as its final construction design was still underway.

It was not until yesterday that the government’s new central library project can be expected to finally get off the ground before long.

Library to cover floor area of 12,710 square metres

The Public Works Bureau (DSOP), the public entity tasked with organising and overseeing public construction projects, announced detailed construction information on the library project on its website yesterday.

According to the DSOP website, the site where the new central library will be located, i.e., the plot where the old Hotel Estoril currently stands, covers 2,960 square metres.

The future central library will have three storeys, plus a basement area to be used for storerooms. The new building will have a gross floor area of 12,710 square metres.

The new central library will include facilities such as public reading areas, study areas, and meeting rooms, according to the DSOP website.

The DSOP website says that the library project will be carried out in two phases. The first phase will demolish the former Hotel Estoril, after which constructors will carry out the new library building’s pile foundation and basement work.

The library project’s second phase, namely superstructure work, will start after the first phase’s completion.

Tender by invitation

According to the website, the Public Works Bureau has launched a tender by invitation when it asked seven construction companies to bid for the library project’s first phase. All seven companies submitted their respective bids, which were unsealed by DSOP officials on Monday, according to the website.

The quotations proposed by the seven bidders range from 69.78 million patacas to 89.98 million patacas, according to the website.

The bureau has set a maximum period of 450 working days for the winning bidder to complete the project’s first phase.

After the bureau completes assessing the seven bids, it will choose and announce the winner.

According to the DSOP website, the construction periods proposed by the seven bidders are identical, 450 working days.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau said last year that it had decided not to include a carpark under its new central library.

As seen by the Post on site yesterday, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) is currently carrying out a project to remove the mosaic mural from the old Hotel Estoril’s façade, after which it will be moved to an IC location where it will be cleaned and restored, before it will be finally relocated to the future library’s atrium.

Initially, the government proposed in the 2000s to convert the Old Courthouse on Avenida da Praia Grande into the city’s new central library. However, the government cancelled the proposal in 2020 when it decided to turn the heritage-listed building and the adjacent former Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters on Rua Central into the headquarters of the Court of Final Appeal (TUI).

The ongoing Court of Final Appeal complex project there got off the ground in October 2022. 

This artist’s rendition downloaded from the website of the Netherlands’ Mecanoo architecture firm yesterday shows its concept design for Macau’s new central library.

Pedestrians walk across Praça do Tap Seac near the former Hotel Estoril yesterday. – Photo: Tony Wong