The government has announced that the pedestrian tunnel under Guia Hill will open on Saturday, i.e., National Day on October 1.
The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) made the announcement in a statement on Friday.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) announced on its website earlier this month that the government’s pedestrian tunnel project under Guia Hill, which got off the ground in late 2020, had been completed.
Friday’s statement said that Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, as well as senior officials such as Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon and Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário, paid an inspection visit to the newly completed tunnel earlier last week.
The new tunnel for pedestrians only connects Zape and the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood. It is located near the current two-lane vehicular tunnel under Guia Hill, which has been in use since 1990.
The entrance to the Guia Hill pedestrian tunnel on the Zape side is located near the Caltex petrol station in Avenida do Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues, while its entrance on the other side of the hill is located in Flora Garden.
Friday’s statement noted that the new pedestrian tunnel will shorten the walking distance between the two sides to about 400 metres from the current 1,100 metres.
The whole project, officially known as Walking System Surrounding Guia Hill, also includes two footbridges across Avenida do Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues, one from the tunnel’s entrance to Rua de Malaca and the other leading to near an undeveloped plot between the Jai Alai casino-hotel complex and Casa Real Hotel.
Friday’s statement also noted that the pedestrian tunnel has a travellator (aka moving walkway). In addition, the walking system has lifts connecting the tunnel with the main walking and running trail on Guia Hill – officially known as Estrada do Engenheiro Trigo.
According to the DSOP website, the whole project of the Walking System Surrounding Guia Hill had a price tag of 235 million patacas.
This undated handout photo released by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday shows the newly completed Guia Hill pedestrian tunnel.
