Former Handover Site to Become Public Square in Macao

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 ◆ Former Handover Site to Become Public Square in Macao

A 16,500-square-meter public square will emerge in less than five months at the site of the ceremony marking Macao's return to the motherland.

An inauguration ceremony for the project, with an estimated cost of 18.68 million patacas (US$ 2.34 million), was held recently.

Designers say that the new square, on the southeastern tip of the Macao Peninsula, will be covered by cheese-colored macadams and crisscross marble lines meaning the integration of the Eastern and Western cultures in Macao.

Besides as the site for future government activities, gala celebrations and gathering of local residents, historical significance will enable it a scenic spot for visitors, the authorities said. Work will be done by the Chinese-funded Nam Kwong Group and a local company, scheduled in 138 days.

The Macao Forum -- the handover site -- was built on land reclaimed from the sea for the grand ceremony at the end of 1999, but was later torn down and leveled to be a patch of grassland.