Gov’t to build a supercharger station in Cotai, review other EV charging facilities

Iau Teng Pio

The government will build a new supercharger station for electric vehicles (EVs) in Cotai, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raymond Tam, announced at the Legislative Assembly (AL) during a Q&A session with lawmakers.

According to Tam, the new station will be located on Rua da Patinagem in Cotai, near the Macau East Asian Games Dome, and is expected to enter operation by mid-year.

The revelation came in response to an inquiry by lawmaker Iau Teng Pio regarding the need to improve regulations to facilitate the construction of EV charging stations in private buildings.

Tam explained that the supercharger station’s location was chosen for ease of construction, as it will be placed next to a power substation.

Nonetheless, according to a Times report, Macau’s Cotai district has the highest number of supercharger stations from multiple brands, including Tesla and BMW, as well as other public charging providers.

Raymond Tam

In total, there are 13 charging stations in the Cotai area, five more than in the entire Peninsula. Five of these Cotai charging stations are within 500 meters of the one the government plans to build.

When questioned about the low usage of some public charging stations while others are overwhelmed with demand, the Secretary explained that this is mainly because slow-charging stations are not popular among residents, who prefer fast-charging options.

He said that, as a result, the government will gradually replace existing low-power EV charging stations with faster ones to boost usage.

In response to Iau’s call to change the rules to allow more private individuals to install stations in residential buildings, Tam said that for older buildings not prepared for this kind of equipment, such changes would require structural modifications and present several factors to consider.

He explained that this is why the government, together with CEM, has issued a specific guideline to be followed for this purpose.

The Secretary noted that, under current law, a 50% agreement among building unit owners is sufficient, and that this ratio cannot be changed due to matters related to general law and the need to protect the interests of unit buyers, adding that there is no legal framework that would further ease these rules.