Plans to use Taipa ferry terminal as airport extension still in initial phase

Plans to use the Taipa Maritime Terminal in Cotai as an extension of the Macau International Airport are still in an initial phase, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário has said.
The local airport received 9.6 million tourist arrivals last year, when it was designed only to receive 7.8 million annual passengers.
“The Pac On Terminal is huge and currently has more space, so we intend to use part of the terminal to create Terminal 2,” Rosário told the press on the sidelines of a Legislative Assembly committee meeting.
According to the official, the second terminal will be able to handle 1.4 million passengers per year, adding that the expansion aims to lighten the load of the local airport.
Terminal 2 was said to be connected to the airport by a fenced off special corridor in line with international aviation security rules.
Earlier this week, the Times inquired with the Office of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works to ask further details about the plan, however, the office briefly replied only that “information will be disclosed to the public soon.”
According to the airport master plan report back in March 2019, which was submitted to the central government, the plan noted that the expansion would be rolled out in two phases.
The first development phase has been set to receive a capacity of 11 million passengers – which corresponds to the baseline forecast traffic for 2025 – while the second phase could accommodate up to 15 million passengers.
This phase corresponds to the demand level projected in 2033 and 2041 for the high scenario and baseline, respectively.
This master plan was approved by the SAR government in July 2016 and was incorporated into the Five-Year Development Plan of the Macau SAR (2016-2020).
“We have been dealing with the issue [of expansion plans] for several years. When we started, there was still no 85 square kilometers of territorial waters. However, the procedures have changed, so we are still in this process with a view to obtaining, as soon as possible, an approval for that same plan,” said the Secretary.
Further, the Macau International Airport has last month started construction work for the Passenger Terminal Building South Extension, which will be integrated into the existing passenger terminal building to enhance its handling capacity.
Expected to be completed by the middle of 2021, the expansion would allow passenger handling capacity to increase to ten million passengers per year from 7.8 million.