Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) Director Susanna Wong Soi Man said on Tuesday she expected the Pac On Ferry Terminal in Taipa to be finally operational by the end of this quarter.
Wong was quick to add that the government had not yet decided on the exact date to open the terminal.
Wong made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a public function.
The bureau said in August last year it expected the partial operation of the new ferry terminal to start between February and May this year. The bureau also said at that time that once the new terminal started operating, the Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal, which is currently in use, would close for good.
When asked by the media whether the new terminal will be operational next month, Wong said her bureau aimed for the terminal to start operating within this quarter, adding that the bureau would announce the opening date once it makes the decision.
The plot of land on which the new terminal is located covers about 200,000 square metres, while the original plan was for just 50,000 square metres. The current terminal’s size is equal to 25 standard football fields. The government has said that the terminal’s maximum passenger movement is 400,000 per day.
The final cost of the construction of the new terminal is 3.8 billion patacas, government officials have said.
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 580 million patacas. The government has repeatedly readjusted the project since its launch over a decade ago.
The terminal now has a total of 16 berths for ships with a carrying capacity of 400 passengers and three berths for ships with a carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers, as well as one helipad. There were just eight berths in the initial project.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
