Construction of a spur line of Macau's Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system to Zhuhai's Hengqin Island will "start soon," the Macau government's Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) has announced.
According to yesterday's announcement, the project has a price tag of about 3.5 billion patacas (US$438 million). The two-station line will be built by Nam Kwong Commercial and Industrial Union, which is owned by the Ministry of Commerce.
The announcement predicted that it will take four years to complete the project.
The office noted that the 2.2-kilometre line between Cotai and Hengqin will include a 900-metre underwater tunnel. The line will link the LRT's Lotus Checkpoint Station near the Studio City hotel-casino resort in Cotai with Hengqin's border checkpoint.
The announcement said the aim of the project was to render travel between Macau and Hengqin "more convenient" and ultimately to connect the LRT with the Greater Bay Area (GBA) railway network.
Currently, the LRT system is limited to Taipa and Cotai. Extension lines that will connect the system with the sprawling Seac Pai Van public housing estate in Coloane and Barra at the southern tip of the Inner Harbour area of the Macau peninsula are under construction.
