The Macau International Airport is set to expand, with the land reclamation process starting in the second half of next year, TDM reports.
This is according to the public consultation document for Macao’s five-year economic diversification plan, released on Friday. The plan highlights the airport’s expansion as a priority project within the integrated tourism and leisure sector. When it’s finished, the airport will be able to handle 13 million passengers per year – three million more than current capacity.
To increase the airport’s physical size, 129 hectares of land needs to be reclaimed from the sea. The reclamation process is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024, with a new long-haul aircraft parking area to be finished in late 2026, according to the proposed five-year plan.
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The whole project, which includes enlarging the area where planes taxi between hangars, terminals, and the runway, should be completed for 2029.
From January to the end of June, passenger numbers at Macao’s airport hit nearly 2 million. In the same period in 2019, passenger volume was more than double that at 4.7 million.
The State Council officially approved the Macao SAR government’s application to expand the Macau International Airport in late 2022.
