Gov’t wants to reclaim land for airport expansion

Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) President Simon Chan stated this week that the local government has requested the central government’s permission to reclaim land for the expansion of the local airport.

The government is seeking to reclaim land in the waters between the airport’s two taxiways that link the runway and the apron.

Chan said that the government made its request for land reclamation to the central government in February, further noting that there was no current timetable for the commencement of the land reclamation project. He added that the central government is still considering the plan for the airport’s expansion.

AACM released the revised version of a development plan for the airport for the next 20 years in January. The airport’s development will require land reclamation of 172 hectares or 1.72 square kilometers, which will raise the total area of the airport to 346 hectares.

The revised plan also forecasts the number of passengers to reach 7 million by 2019, 11 million by 2037, and 15 million by 2040.

The airport exceeded its designed maximum passenger capacity in November last year, when six million passenger arrivals and departures were recorded.

Chan further pointed out that since the number of passengers at the airport now exceeds more than six million per year, land reclamation to expand the airport is the only way to accommodate the growing number of passengers.

The airport has been in service for 22 years since it first began operating in November 1995.