New Hengqin–Cotai water pipeline approved

A plan to build a new water supply pipeline was approved after Macau’s Marine and Water Bureau signed an agreement with Zhuhai authorities on November 30. The pipeline, which is planned to run between Hengqin and Cotai, will be about 15 kilometers long and will supply 200,000 cubic meters of water per day.
Authorities have stated that the pipeline is required to meet Macau’s growing demand for water as the city expands.
The agreement includes the Macau government picking up the RMB528 million tab for the project – the pipeline’s entire cost. Meanwhile, Zhuhai authorities will take the lead on its construction, along with its subsequent maintenance and repair in future years.
Work on the pipeline is expected to commence this month and will be completed by mid-2017.
The agreement was signed by representatives of authorities from both regions: Lin Xutian, director general of the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province and Susana Wong, the director of the Marine and Water Bureau of the MSAR.
The agreement also covered new proposals regarding the maintenance and development of the existing Ping Gang and Guang Chang pumping stations. The two pumping stations will be connected by a second planned water pipeline, thereby enhancing the stability of the water supply.
Once completed, the second pipeline will allow the pumping stations to circulate one million cubic meters of raw water per day.
According to a local government statement, Zhuhai currently supplies around 254,000 cubic meters of water to Macau daily. Approximately 95 percent of Macau’s raw water comes from the Modaomen Estuary in Zhuhai.