The Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On will start operating at 6 a.m. on Thursday as its three ferry operators will transfer all sailings from the adjacent Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal to the new terminal, the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) announced on Monday.
During a press conference at the airport-sized terminal on Tuesday, Tong Iok Peng, who heads the bureau’s Port Control Department, said the temporary terminal would be closed for good after the last ferry leaves at 1 a.m. on Thursday. Ferries will start leaving from the new terminal at 7 a.m. on the opening day.
Construction of the terminal started in 2005 and was originally scheduled to be completed in 2007. The budget for the project back in 2005 was MOP 580 million. The government had repeatedly adjusted the construction plans since it was designed over a decade ago. The construction cost so far has reached MOP 3.8 billion, government officials have said. A third construction phase is slated to start in due course, according to the officials.
The new terminal has a total of 16 berths for ferries with a carrying capacity of 400 passengers and three “multi-purpose” berths for vessels with a carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers, as well as a helipad.
DSAMA Director Susana Wong Soi Man, who attended Monday’s press conference, said there won’t be any shops in the new terminal at the beginning of its operation, but promised to speed up the bureaucratic procedures required to get the shops and restaurants open.
“Many vending machines have been installed as a temporary measure to fulfil passengers’ needs,” said Wong.
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