Director of the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA), Wong Soi Man, has revealed that renovations to the Macau Ferry Terminal (also known as the Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal) will not be finished until the end of this year. She explained that the delay was inevitable because the renovation is being carried out while the terminal is still in operation.
The director says that there are always obstacles in construction projects. She thinks that this requires all parties to collaborate with each other, and that the delay is not only the fault of the contractor.
“Since our terminal is renovated while it is still operating, it is very natural that there will be delays on plans of relocation or tests of systems. We have enquired about it to the department responsible for public works and [learnt that the renovation] can complete at the end of this year,” she said.
Another long-delayed project is the Taipa Ferry Terminal at Pac On. Wong Soi Man said that, according to the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI), the terminal can be handed to DSAMA at the end of the year, as previously expected, although she is not certain about the current progress of the project.
The renovation project for the Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal started in July last year and was first expected to finish in July of this year, but it has since been delayed until September.
The renovation is expanding the facilities, including an increase in the number of service counters for booking ferry tickets: hotel and travel agency counters will be doubled, from the current 23 to 45, while the number of airline registration counters will be increased from 8 to 12. New elements are also being introduced, like a new baggage claim area.
Compared to the renovation project at the Outer Harbor terminal, the delay of the Pac On ferry terminal completion is much more serious. The construction of the new Taipa terminal started in 2005 and was expected to finish in 2009. However, it was postponed until mid-2013, before a further extension of the construction period to the second quarter of this year. The latest GDI account stated that the works would be completed at the end of this year. JPL
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