The Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) has launched a public tender for the design and construction of a footbridge connecting the future Qingmao border checkpoin and the new Ilha Verde Building public housing estate, according to an announcement by the office that was published in the Official Gazette yesterday.
The Ilha Verde Building subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) estate, situated opposite the Qingmao checkpoint project which is under construction, was completed late last year when HOS buyers moved into their flats.
Companies which plan to bid for the design and construction contract can submit their bids until August 7. GDI officials will unseal and screen the submitted bids on the office premises the next day, according to the announcement.
The winning bidder is required to complete the footbridge project in 430 working days, the announcement said.
GDI officials will assess the submitted bids in line with the quotation accounting for 45 percent of the total marks, construction period for 30 percent and design for 25 percent proposed by the respective bidders, according to the announcement.
According to the website of the office, the footbridge will be equipped with lifts, escalators and staircases.
The foundation work of the checkpoint project started in April last year and was completed last month, after which the construction of the main structure will get off the ground. The local government has hired state-owned Guangdong Nam Yue Group Corporation Limited for the construction of the checkpoint project.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said in October last year that the Qingmao border checkpoint – a 24/7 operation – was expected to come into service at the end of 2019.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário told lawmakers later that month that he had never said that the Qingmao border checkpoint project would be completed in 2019.
According to the website of the Infrastructure Development Office, the checkpoint project is slated to be completed in December 2020, as required by the agreement between the local government and Nam Yue.
According to local media reports, the Qingmao checkpoint project was initially scheduled to be completed at the end of this year.
Rosário told lawmakers in December last year that it was unlikely that the Qingmao checkpoint could come into service at the end of 2019.
The Qingmao checkpoint will be a land border crossing for pedestrians only, the first of its kind in Macau.
