The Macao Light Rapid Transit (MLRT) East Line connecting the Barrier Gate border checkpoint and the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On should be completed in 2028.
Invitations for construction bids for the line are expected to be issued by the end of this year.
The government has also reaffirmed that only after the central government authorises the lease of a plot of land from Zhuhai can the LRT East Line be extended to the Qingmao checkpoint near the Barrier Gate.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário and Public Works Bureau (DSOP) Director Lam Wai Hou yesterday briefed lawmakers on the government’s draft urban development plan for the Eastern District 2 project, and its latest design for the LRT East Line project.
The government started a 60-day public consultation on its draft urban development plan for the Eastern District 2 project on 7 October. The ongoing public consultation will end on 5 December.
Eastern District 2, which covers the Zone A land reclamation area, is one of 18 “sub-areas for planning” listed by Macao’s urban master plan.
Rosário noted that the government does not expect the central government’s authorisation for the leasehold to be formalised in the short term, so Macao has decided to push ahead with the construction of the LRT East Line that will run to the Barrier Gate checkpoint only, while the project’s design will allow the extension to the Qingmao checkpoint after the central government has authorised the leasehold.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced last month that the central government had decided to allow the Macao government to lease a plot of land from Zhuhai so that Macao’s future LRT East Line can be extended to the Qingmao checkpoint. The V-shaped plot belonging to Zhuhai, which covers around 3,700 square metres, is located next to the Barrier Gate checkpoint.
During yesterday’s session, Lam presented details about the government’s latest design of its LRT East Line project, a sea-crossing section connecting the Barrier Gate land border checkpoint and the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On via the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas.
According to Lam, the LRT East Line, without extension to the Qingmao checkpoint, will be 7.7 kilometres long and have six underground stations, including three in Zone A.
According to the government’s latest design, the first two stations of the LRT East Line, ES1 and ES2, will be built off the northern coast of the peninsula. The two stations will require land reclamation of the mudflats off the coast.
The first station, ES1, will be built near the Barrier Gate checkpoint. With the central government’s authorisation of the Macao government’s lease of the V-shaped plot, according to Lam, the ES1 station could be built closer to the Barrier Gate checkpoint, in which case, he said, the walking distance between the ES1 station and the checkpoint would be shortened by 65 metres. In addition, according to Lam, the East Line could be extended to the nearby Qingmao checkpoint in Ilha Verde by travelling under the Barrier Gate checkpoint.
The second station, ES2, will be located near the Residencia Macau residential estate.
According to Lam, the East Line will then run into Zone A, which will have three stations, namely ES3, ES4 and ES5, before crossing the sea via a tunnel. The East Line will then enter Zone E1 where there will be one underground station, ES6, the sixth and last station of the LRT East Line. Afterwards, the track will gradually leave the underground segment and run on an elevated track before linking up with the Taipa Ferry Terminal station, the eastern terminus of the LRT Taipa section – Macao’s first LRT which came into service in December 2019.
Rosário reaffirmed yesterday that the government could only come up with a budget for the LRT East Line project after inviting construction bids for the project, The Macau Post Daily reported.
