The government has said that it has been urging building contractors of the construction projects in the Zone A land reclamation area, which is currently not served by public buses, to provide transport for their workers during their commutes to and from work.
The Transport Bureau (DSAT) and the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) issued a joint statement on the issue on Friday.
Zone A is primarily being developed for public housing projects. According to the DSOP website, 12 public housing projects, as well as the construction of a building earmarked for a wet market and other municipal facilities, are currently being carried out there. In addition, a number of infrastructure projects are also being carried out in Zone A, including roads and utility tunnels.
As a new urban area without inhabitants for the time being, Zone A is currently not covered by public bus services.
Currently, Zone A is only connected to the peninsula at the busy Oriental Pearl roundabout (Rotunda da Amizade), on the peninsula’s north-eastern coast.
Vehicles have to enter Zone A first before travelling to the Macau checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), which is located on the man-made island east of Zone A.
Consequently, public buses serving the HZMB Macau checkpoint, namely the No. 101X and 102X routes, have to travel between the peninsula and the HZMB Macau checkpoint via Zone A. However, neither of the two public bus routes stop in Zone A.
Without public bus services, most of the Zone A construction workers normally have to walk between the zone and the peninsula, except those whose employers have made transport arrangements.
Civic leaders have urged the government to allow public bus companies to operate routes serving Zone A, despite the fact that for the time being only construction activities are being carried out there. Alternatively, they have called for the government to allow the No. 101X and 102X routes to stop in Zone A.
With the post-COVID-19 recovery of Macau’s tourism sector, the number of coach companies willing to be hired by building contractors to provide transport services for Zone A construction workers has decreased since early this year, according to previous news reports.
Friday’s joint statement by the two bureaus noted that with urban construction being intensively carried out in Zone A as well as Macau’s transport services between Hong Kong and the mainland having gradually returned to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, people movements and vehicular flows in Zone A have been rising significantly.
Corporate social responsibility
Consequently, the statement said, the Public Works Bureau has been urging building contractors for public projects in Zone A to fulfil their corporate social responsibility by properly arranging transport for their workers during their commutes to and from work, with the aim of reducing the adverse impact of their commutes on the traffic situation in the areas surrounding Zone A.
According to the statement, building contractors for some of the projects in Zone A have meanwhile arranged for coaches to transport workers to and from their construction sites. The statement said that the Public Works Bureau will “encourage” building contractors that are still not providing their workers with transport services to roll out special measures to “help” them get to and from work.
In addition, the statement said, the Transport Bureau will constantly monitor the latest traffic situation in Zone A and continue to work closely with the Public Works Bureau and building contractors for Zone A projects with the aim of reducing the number of occasions construction workers need to enter and leave Zone A on foot. The aim of the Transport Bureau’s work is to prevent possible traffic “irregularities” and even traffic accidents in and around Zone A.
However, the Transport Bureau appeared to have indirectly ruled out the provision of public bus services for Zone A for the time being, because the statement said that public bus services will be available there “in a timely manner” in compliance with inhabitants moving into public housing estates and the operations of community facilities there.
The first public housing projects in Zone A are now scheduled to be completed next year. The ongoing construction of the municipal wet market complex, which is located on Plot B6, will be the first building to be completed in Zone A, currently slated to be completed in October this year, according to the DSOP website.
This undated handout photo jointly released by the Transport Bureau (DSAT) and the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) on Friday shows workers of the ongoing fourth Macau-Taipa Bridge project, which will connect the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas, getting on a shuttle bus arranged by the building contractor when leaving work.
