The government has allowed the construction of the new Macau-Zhuhai border checkpoint project at Ilha Verde to be carried out from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, by issuing an exemption to the statutory restrictions on the period allowed for construction work to be carried out, according to an executive order published in the Official Gazette (BO) Tuesday.
The executive order was signed by Chief Executive Chui Sai On earlier this month.
The order said the exemption was granted to ensure that the project will be completed on schedule late next year.
According to the Environmental Noise Prevention and Control Law which came into force in early 2015, within 200 metres of residential buildings or hospitals, civil engineering and construction work is not allowed between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., as well as on Sundays and public holidays. The law states that the chief executive can grant an exemption to the requirement if the respective project serves major public interest.
In the executive order that took effect Monday, Chui allowed the foundation work of the checkpoint project to be also carried out between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. from Mondays to Saturdays, and between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays.
The exemption granted by Chui means that the foundation work of the checkpoint project is allowed to be carried out between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day.
The new Macau-Zhuhai border checkpoint, in Avenida do Comendador Ho Yin, is situated where the old Macau Wholesale Market building was located.
After the fresh food wholesale market was relocated to the new Macau Wholesale Market building in the Zhuhai-Macau Cross Border Industrial Zone in Ilha Verde late last year, the old building was demolished to make way for the checkpoint project.
The new Macau-Zhuhai border checkpoint, which is near the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park, is tentatively called the “Guangdong-Macau New Channel” by the government. It is also officially known as Qingmao border checkpoint.
The government has hired the China state-owned Guangdong Nam Yue Group Corporation Limited for the foundation work of the checkpoint project, which has recently started, for about 890 million patacas.
The government is yet to hire a construction company for the major work of the project.
The local government first announced in 2013 that the central government had approved the setting-up of the “Guangdong-Macau New Channel” at the joint request by the Macau and Guangdong governments.
The local government said in 2012 that the two governments had jointly requested the checkpoint project, with the aim of alleviating the rising pressure at Macau’s Barrier Gate border checkpoint and its mainland counterpart – the Gongbei border checkpoint – which became the nation’s busiest land-border checkpoint in 2011.
The local government said earlier this year that the Qingmao border checkpoint project – a 24/7 operation – is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
