Ferry Ferminal opens without shops

The new Taipa Maritime Terminal (also known as Pac On Ferry Terminal) will open on Thursday without any commercial entities, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, said yesterday, and it could be another year before establishments such as shops and restaurant can begin operating.

The secretary said that the process of filling these commercial spaces, which had been awarded to a local company through a public tender, had faced unforeseen difficulties.

“There were some issues that delayed the whole process,” Rosário told TDM. “In the meantime, even though the conditions are not the best, we decided to keep the opening date [for the terminal].”

During a media tour yesterday, the head of the Port Control Department of the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA), Tong Iok Peng, said that the first ferry operating at the new Taipa Maritime Terminal will depart Macau for Hong Kong at approximately 7 a.m. on June 1, said at a press conference yesterday.

According to Tong, the first ferry to arrive and dock in the new facility will depart Hong Kong for Macau at around 8 a.m. that same day.

Regarding the current temporary ferry terminal, the last ferry arriving in Macau will complete its journey at half past midnight on June 1. The last ferry to depart the city will do so at 1 a.m.

After the last ferry leaves Macau, the temporary terminal will be closed to the public. All three ferry companies will relocate their operations to the new terminal, which will run 24 hours a day. For its initial phase, it will open eight ferry parking spots.

Four public buses, specifically bus lines 26, 36, AP1 and MT1, will service the ferry terminal. Bus N2 will run during the night shift.

The new terminal will also be the final station for bus MT4, which will drop passengers off on the first floor and pick them up on the ground floor.

Starting early Thursday morning, lines 26, AP1 and MT4 will still stop at the current temporary ferry terminal. N2 will stop at the new ferry terminal starting at midnight next Thursday, but it will still stop at the temporary ferry terminal.

The new ferry terminal will provide a total of 936 parking spots, including 196 for motorbikes and 740 for cars. There will be two exits in the parking lots, with one entrance located on the ground floor and another on the first floor.

73 parking lots will be available for heavy vehicles on the side of the terminal facing the Pac On immigration office building.

Heavy vehicles are only allowed to enter if approved by the Transport Bureau. As the terminal is new, special staff will be deployed to the terminal in order to issue temporary parking permits to heavy vehicles as needed. Such vehicles are only allowed to park for a maximum of 30 minutes.

Ten percent more officers from several public government departments, including customs, will be deployed to the new ferry terminal to aid the operations.

The 200,000-square meter structure opens on June 1, containing 16 bridge-quays for fast ferries and three multipurpose berths that can be used for several kinds of ships. There are also a total of 127 immigration desks in place. JZ