The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) announced in a statement yesterday that a total of 5,703 residents have submitted their proposed names for the future fourth Macau-Taipa bridge, the construction of which is now scheduled to be completed in the next quarter.
The naming campaign’s submission period ran until Monday night.
According to the statement, the 5,703 proponents submitted about 14,400 same or different names.
The naming campaign ran between December 16 and January 15, during which local residents aged at least 18 could submit their proposals.
The campaign only accepted names in Macau’s two official languages, Chinese and Portuguese. Each proponent could suggest up to three names, either in Chinese or Portuguese.
Each proponent had to write a brief description of each of the proposed name or names, explaining their proposal.
Only those holding an account of the government’s Macao One Account service could submit their proposals.
A selection committee consisting of community association representatives and professionals from various segments of civil society will shortlist five from the submitted names, after which the government will choose one of the five shortlisted names for the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge’s official name.
Yesterday’s statement said that the naming campaign had been “met with enthusiasm”.
The statement added that after the selection committee has made its decisions, the bureau will then announce the results.
The city’s current three sea-crossing bridges connecting the Macau peninsula and Taipa island are the Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge (informally known as the “old bridge”) which opened in 1974, Friendship Bridge which opened in 1994, and Sai Van Bridge which opened in January 2005.
In 2004, the government also held a campaign asking local residents to propose names for the third Macau-Taipa bridge when it finally chose Sai Van Bridge as its official name.
The government announced the third Macau-Taipa bridge’s official name, Sai Van Bridge, in early December 2004, after choosing from the five names shortlisted by a selection committee from about 1,000 names proposed by more than 400 local residents. The other four shortlisted names at that time were Macau Bridge, Hou Kong (“Oyster River”) Bridge, Hou Kiang (“Oyster Mirror”) Bridge, and Ma Kok Bridge.
Sai Van, which means “west bay” in Cantonese, is the geographic name of the area off the south-western tip of the Macau peninsula where the third Macau-Taipa bridge is located.
Hou Kong and Hou Kiang are names by which Macau is traditionally known in Cantonese.
Ma Kok is the Cantonese name of Barra near Sai Van.
The 5.27-billion-pataca fourth Macau-Taipa bridge project got off the ground on March 26, 2020.
The 3,085-metre-long bridge will have eight vehicular lanes – four in each direction. One lane in each direction will be for motorcycles only.
The bridge will connect the Zone A and Zone E1 land reclamation areas.
This photo taken from Big Taipa Hill (aka Taipa Grande) last month shows the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge project. – Photo: Tony Wong
