RMB18 billion Macau-Hengqin University Town set for first-phase opening this month

The Legislative Assembly’s Public Finance Affairs Committee has confirmed, following its review of the Macau-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, that the project’s first transitional campus at Dezhi Plaza is set to commence operations this month, with total investment estimated at around RMB 18 billion.

The Hengqin extension campuses of Macau’s three public universities will formally commence operations this month, operating without independent legal status under a “one university, two campuses” framework, with all academic standards, degree conferral, and certification procedures mirroring those of the Macau main campuses, Song Pei Kei, chair of the Legislative Assembly’s Public Finance Affairs Committee, confirmed at a post-meeting press briefing yesterday.

The university town, comprising the University of Macau (UM), the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macao University of Tourism (UTM), will offer academic programs strategically designed to support Macau’s “1+4” appropriate economic diversification strategy and Hengqin’s “four new” industrial sectors, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous systems, data science, microelectronics, and the Internet of Things.

According to the committee, the project, with an estimated investment of RMB18 billion, will be delivered in three phases by 2030 and accommodate more than 20,000 students. The UM campus is scheduled for trial operation in 2028, while the MPU and UTM campuses will start construction next year. Facilities at the first-phase campus – including laboratories, sports centers, and teaching spaces – will be shared among the three institutions, a move described as “breaking the traditional model of closed-loop development.”

According to Song, mainland students will enjoy unimpeded customs clearance, while international students will benefit from smart clearance services through a “whitelist” mechanism. Authorities also plan to establish a new border checkpoint and dedicated student lanes at the UM campus, with foreign nationals or international students able to enter and exit freely after registering with the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone.

Meanwhile, tenders for the second and third phases of the university town have incorporated the employment of local Macau staff by bidding entities as a scoring criterion.