The government will build a footbridge across a junction in Fai Chi Kei district near its waterfront, the construction of which is expected to get off the ground before the second quarter of next year, making it more convenient for pedestrians to walk between the waterfront’s sitting-out area and the district’s residential neighbourhood, the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) said yesterday.
The L-shaped footbridge will be located at the junction of Rua Norte do Patane (沙梨頭北街) and Rua do Comandante João Belo (俾若翰街/筷子基北街), linking the current sitting-out area along the east-side waterfront of Patane North Bay on one side with residential estates on the other side.
Patane North Bay, a bay off Fai Chi Kei and Ilha Verde, is known as Fai Chi Kei North Bay in Cantonese.
The government is currently building a new sitting-out area along the south-side waterfront of Patane North Bay, which is slated to be completed before the end of this year, after which it will be connected with the current sitting-out area along the bay’s east-side waterfront.
The current sitting-out area there is officially known as Fai Chi Kei North Bay Recreational Area.
A DSOP statement yesterday noted that the new L-shaped footbridge will have three assess points, namely one at the Fai Chi Kei North Bay Recreational Area, one outside the Weng Hoi Building (宏開大廈) residential estate, and one outside the Fai Tat Building (快達樓) social rental housing estate.
The statement said that the footbridge will be equipped with a lift, an escalator, and a staircase at each of the three access points.
The L-shaped footbridge’s section crossing Rua Norte do Patane, between the waterfront sitting-out area and Weng Hoi Building, will be 50 metres long, while its section crossing Rua do Comandante João Belo, between Weng Hoi Building and Fai Tat Building, will be 40 metres long, the statement said.
The government launched a public tender at the end of last month for the footbridge project. Potential bidders were required to submit their quotations by Monday.
A total of 11 construction companies had submitted their bids, which were unsealed by DSOP officials yesterday. All bids were accepted.
Yesterday’s DSOP statement announced that the quotations proposed by the 11 bidders range from 46 million to 63 million patacas.
The bureau has set a maximum period of 500 working days for the winning bidder to complete the project.
Yesterday’s statement also said that the construction periods proposed by the 11 bidders are identical, 450 working days.
The statement said that the construction of the footbridge is expected to get off the ground before the second quarter of next year.
The statement said that the new footbridge will create a walking environment that separates pedestrians from vehicular traffic, making it more convenient for pedestrians to walk between the district’s waterfront sitting-out area and residential estates.
In addition to the current sitting-out area along the bay’s east-side waterfront, in the vicinity there is another sitting-out area, located between the Weng Hoi Building residential estate and its adjacent Weng Ken Building (宏建大廈) residential estate.
This artist’s rendition downloaded from the Public Works Bureau’s (DSOP) website yesterday shows the future L-shaped footbridge in Fai Chi Kei near Patane North Bay.
