The initiation ceremony of the construction of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) extension to Hengqin took place yesterday.
The Nam Kwong (Group) Company Limited, a state-owned enterprise founded in 1949 and headquartered in Macau, was commissioned by the SAR government in February 2021 to helm the extension project.
The LRT extension to Hengqin will link the Lotus Bridge checkpoint at Cotai with Hengqin Port, a transport hub on the island. It follows a hybrid structure of flyovers and an underwater tunnel — spanning 2.2 km, with 900 meters underground — and will comprise two stations.
According to a statement released yesterday by the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI), the preliminary works of the project have been underway, including compiling construction drawings, formulating measures for temporary traffic diversions and pipeline rearrangements, setting up deformation monitoring points, and so on.
Soon after the construction kicks off, the construction firm will demolish the buildings surrounding the former Lotus Border Checkpoint and relocate the pipelines at Rotunal Marginal to clear the site for the main construction.
According to the official statement, the project is intended to bring about the direction stipulated in the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” and promulgated by the central government in February 2019, which is to build a rapid transportation network to expedite cross-border travel within the Greater Bay Area.
It is a joint construction project between Macau and Zhuhai with a budget of MOP3.5 billion. It is expected to be completed in four years.
On Macau’s side, construction works such as excavation, pile foundations, and a tunneling shield are expected to be underway in the second quarter of 2021. The construction for Hengqin’s side will commence after the official construction at Macau begins.
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