Construction of the University of Macau’s (UM) campus in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin has got off the ground, marked by a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday.
The new campus will be the university’s first campus outside the jurisdiction of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and it will be the university’s second campus. Geographically, both campuses are located in Hengqin, but the first one is under Macau’s jurisdiction on a plot of land leased from the Chinese mainland.
The public university and the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) made the announcement in separate statements yesterday.
The UM’s current campus is situated in a one-square-kilometre area of Zhuhai’s Hengqin island that is under the MSAR’s direct jurisdiction, i.e., Macau’s laws and regulations fully apply there.
The UM was completely relocated to its current Hengqin campus in 2014 from its former one, located on a hillock in Taipa.
The MSAR has been exercising jurisdiction over the one-square-kilometre area since July 2013, which has been leased from the mainland. The leasehold, which cost the MSAR 1.2 billion patacas, is slated to expire on December 19, 2049.
The university’s upcoming campus, construction of which got off the ground yesterday, will become its first campus outside the jurisdiction of the MSAR, covering a total area of 375,600 square metres (0.3756 square kilometres), with a gross construction area of 831,000 square metres, according to yesterday’s UM statement, which also said that the new campus is now scheduled to come into operation in August 2028.
Hengqin is a 106-square-kilometre island in Zhuhai City. The in-depth cooperation zone, which covers Hengqin island, was inaugurated in September 2021. The top decision-making body is its management committee, which is currently jointly headed by Guangdong Governor Wang Weizhong and MSAR Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng.
Macau’s current land area amounts to 33.3 square kilometres, excluding the UM campus site leased from the mainland.
Yesterday’s UM statement noted that the University of Macau is the first higher education institution in Macau to extend its teaching and research activities to the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
The university held its new campus project’s groundbreaking ceremony yesterday morning, which was attended by senior guests such as Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, Zhang Guozhi, a vice-governor of Guangdong Province, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, who also heads the in-depth cooperation zone’s executive committee, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, Nie Xinping, a deputy director of the in-depth cooperation zone’s executive committee, UM University Council Chair Peter Lam Kam Seng, and UM Rector Song Yonghua.
The zone’s executive committee, which is run under the administrative committee, is the body tasked with the zone’s daily functioning and execution of tasks.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s ceremony, Ho noted that the Overall Development Plan for the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin approved by the State Council late last year “expressly supports” higher education institutions in Macau meeting certain criteria in carrying out teaching and research activities in the in-depth cooperation zone, according to yesterday’s GCS statement.
Ho said that thanks to the guidance and support of the central government and the Guangdong government’s strong assistance, the preparatory work for the construction of the UM campus in the in-depth cooperation zone has been smoothly carried out. Ho said that the new campus will further promote Macau’s integration into the nation’s overall development, marking a new milestone in the Macau-Hengqin integrated development and greater cooperation between the two sides.
Ho noted that the original intent and mission of building the UM campus in the in-depth cooperation zone is to contribute to the zone’s high-quality development, enhancing its development effectiveness, adding that the new campus also aims to promote Hengqin’s four new key industries listed by its two development plans.
The four new key industries listed by the Master Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, published in September 2021, and the Overall Development Plan for the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, published in December last year, are 1) scientific and technological research and high-end manufacturing industries, 2) Macau branded traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), 3) MICE* and commerce as well as culture and tourism, and 4) modern finance.
The Macau government’s current 1+4 appropriate economic diversification model aims to consolidate and diversify the development of the city’s tourism and leisure industry (the model’s “1”) while putting special emphasis on promoting the development of four nascent industries, namely a) big health mainly driven by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), b) modern finance, c) high-tech, and d) MICE and commerce as well as culture and sport.
The outgoing chief executive underlined that the development of the new UM campus in the zone should meet three objectives.
Firstly, Ho said, the new UM campus in the zone should become a paragon leveraging Macau’s strengths to serve the nation’s development needs.
Ho said that the development of the UM campus in the zone represents an innovative breakthrough in the mechanism and system for the cooperation between Macau and the mainland. Ho said he expects the UM campus in the zone to help further leverage the advantages brought about by the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in Macau, with the aim of contributing to the development of the nation’s education.
Secondly, Ho said, the new UM campus in the zone should become a paragon contributing to Macau’s development into a hub for attracting international high-end talents, i.e., highly qualified professionals).
Thirdly, Ho said, the new UM campus in the zone should become a paragon for the innovative cooperation and development in Macau’s higher education sector.
*MICE stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions. It refers to a specialised segment of the tourism industry focused on organising and hosting business-related events.
Guests such as Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (sixth from left), Zhang Guozhi (sixth from right), a vice-governor of Guangdong Province, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong (fourth from left), Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U (third from left), Nie Xinping (fourth from right), a deputy director of the executive committee of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, University of Macau (UM) University Council Chair Peter Lam Kam Seng (second from left), and UM Rector Song Yonghua (first from left) symbolically break ground on the university’s new campus project in Hengqin yesterday. – Photo: UM
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng delivers a speech during yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony. – Photo: UM
This screenshot taken yesterday from a video clip on the university’s website shows the artist’s rendition of its future new campus in Hengqin.
