The border between Macau and Hengqin Island is likely to be opened up to 24-hours a day by the end of this year, according to Niu Jing, the director of the Hengqin New Area Management Authority.
Speaking in Macau he said that the government is currently seeking to put the necessary infrastructure into place to accommodate expanded hours.
The Hengqin government is expanding the Hengqin border with plans to add a transport hub and access to the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway.
Authorities are also almost ready to start the construction works on Macau’s Light Rapid Transit (LRT) link to the island, once the extension of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway there is underway.
Hengqin is seen as a potential pressure-relief valve for sky-high accommodation costs in Macau, although property prices on the island are said to be rising rapidly.
By 2020, Hengqin will have 200,000 residents, one third of them from Macao
A total of 204 Macao firms have invested in Hengqin on 43 sites, with a planned investment of 169.5 billion yuan, including a joint industrial area.
Of those who have invested in Hengqin’s commercial activities, more than 60 per cent are Macao people.
Hengqin has set aside 57,000 square metres of space to auction to Macao firms, for office, cultural and creative use.
Initial price at the auction will be 1,820 rmb per square metre.
The Macao-Hengqin joint Chinese medicine are has 0.5 square km of space; 24 companies have been approved to invest.(macaunews-AGBrief)
