The government has hired a consortium to construct the underground tunnel for the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) East Line Extension at a cost of 1.74 billion patacas. The extension will run between the Barrier Gate checkpoint, the Qingmao checkpoint in Ilha Verde, and the future sports park in Fai Chi Kei district, according to a notice published by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
The 1.74 billion patacas will be paid to the consortium over five years between 2026 and 2030, with the largest single instalment of 662.7 million patacas scheduled for 2027.
The ongoing LRT East Line project, which commenced in 2023, is a 7.7-kilometre-long section connecting the Barrier Gate checkpoint at the northern tip of the peninsula to the Taipa Ferry Terminal via the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas. The East Line will cross the sea between Zone A and Zone E1 through an undersea tunnel and is scheduled to enter service in 2029.
The construction of the main LRT East Line carries a total price tag of 9.28 billion patacas and is being executed through two separate tenders: the 2.9-kilometre northern section and the 4.8-kilometre southern section.
The LRT East Line northern section is being built for 4.47 billion patacas by a consortium consisting of China Civil Engineering Construction (Macau) Company Limited, Nam Kwong Real Estate Company Limited, and the Macau Representative Office of China Railway 16th Bureau Group Company Limited.
The southern section is being built for 4.81 billion patacas by a consortium comprising the Macau Branch of China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Limited, China Construction Engineering (Macau) Company Limited, and the Macau Branch of Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Company Limited.
Both consortia were selected through a public tender process.
According to the government’s LRT expansion plan, officially titled the “Strategic Study for the Development of the Macau Light Rapid Transit”, the East Line Extension will also run underground beneath the Barrier Gate checkpoint and the adjacent Dr. Sun Yat-sen Municipal Park before reaching the Qingmao checkpoint.
From the Qingmao checkpoint, a spur line will run to the future sports park, located on the site of the now-defunct greyhound racetrack (Yat Yuen Canidrome). Construction of the sports park’s first phase began early this year and is slated for completion in 2029.
The entire 1.5-kilometre East Line Extension, including the spur section to the future sports park, will be built entirely underground.
According to the DSF notice published yesterday, the consortium of the upcoming LRT East Line Extension project is the same consortium of the ongoing East Line northern-section project, consisting of China Civil Engineering Construction (Macau) Company Limited, Nam Kwong Real Estate Company Limited, and China Railway 16th Bureau Group Company Limited – Macau Representative Office.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) is yet to update the information on the upcoming project to build the underground tunnel for the LRT East Line Extension on its website.
This file photo taken last year shows the Qingmao border checkpoint building. – Photo: Tony Wong
