Macau to rent land for LRT expansion

The Macau government will rent land from the Central government around the Border Gate to expand the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) project into this part of the city.

This and other details were announced yesterday when the decision of the Permanent Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), adopted on Dec. 29 last year, was published in the official gazette. This decision empowered the SAR to use the land.

In Article 3 of the decision from the Central government, it is noted that the Macau Special Administrative Region government acquires the right to use the land and sea areas by way of lease.

It also provides that “the lease period starts from the date of transference of jurisdiction over the relevant land and sea assets and ends on December 19, 2049.”

The same article also adds, “at the end of the lease period, the lease may be renewed by decision of the Standing Committee of the NPC.”

It is unclear, at this stage, how much the local government will have to pay to rent the land or when it will officially take possession of the area.

The decision only notes that, according to the State Council decision, a date will be assigned at a later stage for the transference of jurisdiction.

At stake is a V-shaped plot of land and surrounding sea areas, which is part of the Zhuhai Municipal Administrative Region.

The whole area has approximately 3.7 square kilometers, with the largest portion (2.26 km2) being water.

A total of 1.44 square kilometers is located on the north side of the intersection between the Border Gate Square and the Avenida Norte do Hipódromo.

As the Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng noted at the time of the decision, the granting of such areas was important to both the development of the LRT system as well as Macau in general and its commuting links with the mainland.

As the local government also announced at the time, the granting of the land will allow the LRT East Line to connect directly to the Border Gate as well as extend to the Qingmao border post via a new station.

The construction of the LRT East line began in August last year and it was expected to conclude by 2028.

But with the line extension to Qingmao, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works has said that both the completion date and the budget would undergo changes that are still under evaluation.

The foundation stone of the East Line of the LRT was officially laid on October 20, 2023.