MACAU BUSINESS F
the traffic flow in the district is expected to grow another 24 per cent to over 3,700 vehicles an hour in 2020. “The transport infrastructure of Macau has severely lagged behind schedule: many of the complementary traffic facilities could not become operational at the same time as the HZMB,” laments legislator Ho Ion Sang. “The city’s only connection to the bridge at the moment,
the Rotunda da Amizade area, has been a traffic black spot with different degrees of traffic jam at peak times,” he said, adding it is understandable, therefore, that the public worries about the “disastrous effects” HZMB will bring to local traffic conditions.
Years of negligence
The traffic problems of Pérola Oriental have not only recently surfaced. Back to 2015, the Macau Association of Economic Sciences published a study about the HZMB, highlighting the overloaded traffic in the northern district. The report pointed out that the Rotunda da Amizade area was the ‘common point of land traffic’ for the city’s existing seven passenger and cargo border terminals, including the Border Gate and Taipa Ferry Terminal, and three planned terminals, including the HZMB. ‘The traffic problem in Rotunda da Amizade is something that the government should tackle,’ the report said at the time. With the city developing marine tourism, some opine that the government could build a ferry terminal at the Macau Port of HZMB to divert passengers to other ferry
“
3,000 vehicles/hour Maximum capacity of Rotunda da Amizade
Quota system for HZMB
ive types of vehicle are permitted to cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in the initial stage with most
subject to a quota system, according to the agreement by the three sides. First envisioned by Hong Kong businessman Gordon Wu in the 1980’s to reduce the land traffic time in the Pearl River Delta area, the multi-billion dollar project has finally materialised nearly four decades later. But there are restrictions in what and who can use the bridge. The cross-border shuttle is the main transportation means for crossing the bridge, fetching passengers around the clock between Hong Kong and Zhuhai, and Hong Kong and Macau. It is not subject to a quota system. The Macau Government estimates that the daily shuttle frequency between the territory and Hong Kong could exceed 200, setting off every five minutes at peak hours and every 15 to 30 minutes at night (midnight to 6:00 am). The daytime fare for the service is HK$65 (US$8.29) and HK$70 for the overnight service. There is another type of cross-boundary bus which departs at designated times and places. The three sides have assigned 400 quotas for these coaches, which are not allowed to pick up passengers at bridge ports. Each quota means the bus can only travel to and fro on the bridge once every day. Besides the two shuttle and bus
services, there will be 250 cross-border
taxis using the bridge in the initial stage, with 150 taxis running the Zhuhai-Hong Kong route and 100 running the Hong Kong-Macau route. For private vehicles, the three sides
have assigned a quota of 11,900 vehicles for using the bridge in the beginning stage, namely 10,000 vehicles travelling from Hong Kong to Zhuhai; 300 vehicles from Hong Kong to Macau; 1,000 vehicles from Zhuhai to Hong Kong; and 600 vehicles from Macau to Hong Kong. In addition, private Hong Kong car
owners could drive to Macau via the bridge under the ‘HZMB Macao Port Park-and-Ride Scheme’ without any quota requirement, in which they have to park their vehicles at the Macau Port of HZMB before entering the city and interchanging with public transportation to travel to other areas of the gaming enclave.
Cargo trucks are also permitted to use the bridge but not immediately as the two Special Administrative Regions are still discussing details in this area.
Macau pays nearly MOP13b. for HZMB T ”
he Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project has so far cost Macau taxpayers a whopping MOP13 billion (US$1.625 billion), government figures reveal. The price tag of the main part of the 55-kilometre bridge was originally set at RMB38.12 billion (US$5.49 billion) but Mainland authorities announced last year that the cost had swelled 27.2 per cent to RMB48.47 billion due to rising manpower and material prices, with new work plans to overcome construction difficulties and others. According to the agreement by Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau, 41.3 per cent of the cost would be shared among the three sides with Macau contributing a 12.59 per cent share, while the remainder would be financed via bank loans. Thus, Macau has forked out about RMB2.57 billion for the main part of the HZMB.
In addition, the Macau Government has paid MOP10 billion to state-owned firm
Nam Kwong (Group) Co. Ltd. for constructing and managing the Macau Port of HZMB. The Macau Port stretches over 71.61 hectares of land with a total floor size occupying over 600,000 square metres on an artificial island boasting an inspection building, a number of roads, tunnels, flyovers and other ancillary facilities. Two car parks comprising 6,800 parking spaces for private vehicles and 2,000 spaces for motorcycles can also be found in Macau Port. Meanwhile, Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported that the Asian financial centre has so far invested HK$120 billion (US$15.31 billion) in the project, including connecting roads and flyovers.
20 DECEMBER 2018
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