The Macau government has announced that it will expedite upgrade and reparation works on the underground bus terminal at the Border Gate linking Macau with mainland China, which it says will save “two or three months.”
The bus terminal is a key infrastructure hub for Macau’s casinos, transporting thousands of visitors each day from the Border Gate to their respective destinations – usually via the extensive fleet of shuttle buses operated by the city’s six concessionaires. In total, the terminal is used by around 3,000 buses each day.
In September the government revealed that the terminal, which was shut down in August after suffering extensive damage during Typhoon Hato, would remain closed until 2019 due to revised redevelopment plans that include improved ventilation systems, more waiting rooms, an upgraded smoke removal system, better lighting, air conditioning and major renovations to the bathrooms, drivers’ restrooms and overall decoration of the facility.
But speaking at the Legislative Assembly in Wednesday, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, said the timeline would now be moved up in an effort to resume full operations at the bus terminal as early as possible.
“W have already [received] authorization to perform the works seven days a week in between 8am and 10pm,” the Macau Daily Times reported Rosário as saying.
“I think that the duration period of the works will be shortened.”
A representative of the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) added that they “have been accelerating the works [to reduce the length by] about two or three months and for the third phase we will also do a tender in an accelerated way in order to open the terminus to the population as soon as possible.”