Beijing authorizes land reclamation for airport expansion
The central government has finally approved the land reclamation for the expansion of Macau International Airport’s (MIA) capacity, local authorities have revealed.
The central government promised in September this year to enforce “favorable initiatives to accelerate recovery of Macau’s tourism sector and advance local infrastructure projects,” according to Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng. Ho said the project’s approval comes as one of several new initiatives after the central government was briefed in a dedicated session about the latest economic situation in Macau.
The idea of expanding the MIA is not new. Since at least 2017, there has been news of talks and preparatory work aimed at such a goal, with the most crucial matter being the need to request authorization from Beijing authorities to build new landfills in areas adjacent to the current airport that would support expansion.
“The expansion of Macau International Airport and related land reclamation will broaden the development potential of the MSAR (Macau Special Administrative Region). It is a step conducive to Macau’s further alignment with the national development, and participation in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, reinforcing the basis for the city’s economic recovery and adequate economic diversification,” Ho said during a meeting with the deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Huang Liuquan, in which he received the approval document authorizing expansion of the MIA.
The authorization comes around one year after the MSAR government submitted a formal request to the central government for the airport expansion and related land reclamation in August 2021.
Capacity to increase to 15 million passengers/year
When the expansion project concludes, the MIA’s passenger handling capacity will increase to 15 million passengers per year, the Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) said. The project will reclaim about 1.3 square kilometers of land and will be completed in phases.
The land reclamation project includes reclaiming the water areas between the runway and the two taxiways to expand the capacity of the apron where more aircraft stands and fast lanes for taxiing will be built; building an extension of the runway end safety areas to meet the new safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization while maintaining the present runway length; and creating a 95-meter-wide water channel between the runway and the apron.
The new superstructure will increase the capacity of the passenger terminal, the general aviation facilities and the runway, the AACM added.
The local aviation sector’s governing body also said it is “confident that the enhancement of the airport infrastructure, the optimization of the terminal facilities, the gradual resumption of flight services and the expansion of the aviation network will offer more diversified services to both Macau residents and the travelers from the Pearl River Delta Region.”
It added the initiative “has come in time to make way for the recovery of the aviation industry in the post-pandemic period, which will help the industry to better integrate into the Greater Bay Area development and attract more aviation sector professionals to come to Macau.”
