The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) said yesterday that it expects the government’s Big Taipa Hill Tunnel project to get off the ground in the second quarter of next year.
The bureau launched a limited tender on May 29 for the project when it requested construction companies to submit their intentions to bid for the project by July 29. After an assessment, which has now started, the bureau will ask the top five companies with the highest scores to submit their quotations.
According to a DSOP statement yesterday, eight construction companies have submitted their intentions to bid for the project, which were unsealed by DSOP officials yesterday.
The eight intentions to bid for the project will now be assessed based on four criteria, namely their respective general ability to carry out construction projects (accounting for 40 percent of the scores), construction techniques and experience (accounting for 30 percent), human resources (accounting for 20 percent), and interview results with officials (accounting for 10 percent).
Only after the bureau chooses the top five companies, will the deadline for submitting the final quotations be announced.
The project is to build a vehicular tunnel under Big Taipa Hill, which will enable drivers to travel more directly between Cotai and Pac On, where the soon-to-open Macau Bridge lands.
Macau’s fourth sea-crossing bridge connecting the Macau peninsula and Taipa island, which has been officially named Macau Bridge, can open later this quarter, the government said early this month.
The fourth Macau-Taipa bridge connects the Zone A land reclamation area on the peninsula side and the Zone E1 land reclamation area off Pac On at the Taipa side.
The DSOP statement noted that “a straight traffic line” between Rotunda do Aeroporto near Cotai and Pac On where the Macau Bridge lands is currently blocked by Big Taipa Hill, aka Taipa Grande in Portuguese and “Tai Tam San” in Cantonese.
Rotunda do Aeroporto is located outside the University Hospital of the private Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).
The statement said that a vehicular tunnel under Big Taipa Hill will enable vehicles to travel between Macau Bridge and Cotai more directly, providing faster movement between the Macau peninsula and Cotai.
In addition to shortening the driving time between the peninsula and Cotai, the statement said, the Big Taipa Hill Tunnel will also be able to alleviate traffic pressure on Estrada de Pac On and Avenida Wai Long where the airport and the Taipa Ferry Terminal are located.
The statement noted that the Big Taipa Hill Tunnel project will be carried out in two phases. The first phase will build the tunnel, spurs leading to Avenida Wai Long and Avenida do Aeroporto on the tunnel’s south side, and the spur on the tunnel’s north side at Pac On.
The statement said that the government will launch the project’s second phase, namely the flyover linking the tunnel’s north side with the sea-crossing Macau Bridge, in due course.
The ongoing limited tender launched in late May is for the Big Taipa Hill Tunnel project’s first phase.
The future winning bidder will be required to carry out the final design of the project’s first phase before starting the construction.
The tender has set a maximum period of 1,165 working days for the completion of the project’s first phase, with the first 150 working days earmarked for the completion of its final design.
The tunnel will be 600 metres long and have four lanes – two in each direction.
The spurs at the tunnel’s south side will be 400 metres in total.
These two artist’s renditions downloaded from the Public Works Bureau’s (DSOP) website yesterday show the future Big Taipa Hill Tunnel at its north (left) and south sides respectively.
