The Macau government will release its plan for a tunnel project near the old Macau-Taipa bridge – earmarked as the fifth Macau-Taipa link – at the end of this year, Ho Ion Sang, who heads the legislature’s Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concession Affairs, quoted government officials as saying Tuesday.
Ho briefed reporters after a closed-door meeting of the committee. The members of the committee asked the officials, including Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario and Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) Director Li Canfeng, to brief them on the progress of the government’s half a dozen land reclamation projects.
The six new land reclamation zones are officially known as A, B, C, D, E1 and E2.
The government has proposed that the fourth Macau-Taipa link connecting Zone A off the north-eastern coast of the peninsula and Zone E1 in Pac On in Taipa be a bridge instead of a tunnel. Zone A and Zone E1 are still being reclaimed.
According to Ho, the officials said that the government will release its plan for the construction of the fifth Macau-Taipa link at the end of this year.
The government is proposing that the fifth link be a tunnel to be built on the east side of the old bridge, Ho quoted the officials as saying.
According to Ho, the government proposes that the fifth link connect Zone B off Nape and Zone D off the northern coast of Taipa.
Zone D, the project which has not yet got off the ground, will be located off the northern coast of Taipa between the old bridge and Friendship Bridge. Zone B’s reclamation has already been completed.
Concerning the fourth Macau-Taipa link, an environmental assessment is being carried out for its construction, Ho quoted the officials as saying.
According to Ho, Tuesday’s meeting also discussed the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project.
An artificial island for the landing points of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge for Macau and Zhuhai lies close to the east side of Zone A.
The officials said in the meeting that the road connecting the man-made island and the Macau peninsula – through Zone A – was under construction, according to Ho.
The opening date of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is yet to be jointly decided by the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau governments.
The government expects the road connecting the artificial island and the Macau peninsula to be operational at the same time the cross-delta bridge comes into operation, according to Ho.
