Zone A to Zone B flyover will cost up to 2.4b and three years to be completed

The new flyover connecting Zone A to Zone B of the new landfills will cost between MOP2.2 to 2.4 billion and will take approximately three years to complete, officials of the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) said.

This announcement came at the ceremony for the opening of the bid documents from the companies that took part in the second phase of a limited tendering for the design and construction of the flyover project.

According to DSOP, the construction is expected to start in the fourth quarter (October to December) this year.

The DSOP received a total of five bids, with all of them being approved for the final evaluation and attribution of the works.

Proposals received by the DSOP by the five bidders have prices ranging from MOP2.18 billion to MOP2.39 billion. In all cases, the construction period is 900 working days.

Public Works officials have said that this project has suffered some delays related first to the pandemic and later to changes in construction methods and procedures. Such methods aimed to alleviate traffic in Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen since the construction will interfere with this road between the Kun Iam Ecumenical Center and the Macao Science Center as well as with the Kun Iam Statue Waterfront Park Leisure Area.

The flyover will have a total length of approximately 3.2 kilometers connecting the area next to the Macao Science Center to the Zone A of the new landfills crossing the sea area in front of the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and under the Amizade Bridge.

According to DSOP officials, the construction of the flyover will also require some reorganization at the Kun Iam Statue Waterfront Park Leisure Area, which will have some of the equipment moved to a different place or removed. It is expected that during the first phase of the construction of the flyover, this park will have to close for a period of at least three to four months.

The changes in the area will also include rearrangements related to the current footbridge that links the seaside to the Macao Cultural Center that, according to public works officials, will be transformed into an underground passage.

Concerns have been expressed in the past about the potential interference of this project with the operation of the ferries at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal.

Earlier this year the Times asked the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) about this topic, with the bureau claiming that the construction will not affect the operation of the ferry terminal that “will continue to operate normally,” DSAMA said.

This answer came in response to the Times’ inquiry following rumors that the government was preparing to shut down the facility due to the upcoming construction of the flyover.

According to DSAMA, “in the future, when works begin for the construction of the access between Zone A and Zone B of the New Urban Landfills, passenger vessels will still be able to navigate following safety control measures.”

According to a previous presentation of the project by DSOP, roughly 900 meters of the flyover will be over water with the structure having four planned spans that will allow vessel navigation with a maximum clearance height of 130 meters.