The government’s Big Taipa Hill Tunnel project will cost up to 1.55 billion patacas in total, according to calculations based on its announcements released yesterday and previously.
The tunnel project will be carried out in two phases, based on separate tenders. The first phase will consist of the construction of a 600-metre-long tunnel under Big Taipa Hill and two flyovers with a total length of 400 metres, leading to Avenida Wai Long (偉龍馬路) and Avenida do Aeroporto (機場大馬路) on its south side, while the second phase will build an 890-metre-long flyover linking the tunnel’s north side in Pac On district with the sea-crossing Macau Bridge.
The Public Works Bureau (DSOP) launched a limited tender on May 29 last year when it requested construction companies to submit their intentions to bid for the tunnel project’s first phase, i.e., the tunnel and the two flyovers on its south side, with the top five qualified companies, decided by score calculations, to be eligible to submit their quotations.
A total of eight construction companies had submitted their intentions to bid for the tunnel project’s first phase, which were assessed by DSOP officials 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).
The bureau announced the five companies with the highest scores in the Official Gazette (BO) on October 23, according to which they were required to submit their quotations by January 6. All five companies submitted their bids by Monday’s deadline, which were unsealed by DSOP officials yesterday. All bids were accepted.
The winning bidder will be required to carry out the final design of the project’s first phase before starting the construction.
1st phase to cost b/w 790 million & 1.11 billion patacas
A DSOP statement yesterday announced that the quotations for the tunnel project’s first phase (final design plus construction) proposed by the five bidders range from 790 million patacas to 1.11 billion patacas.
The limited 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.
Yesterday’s statement announced that the final design and construction periods proposed by the five bidders are 1,048 or 1,049 working days.
The bureau launched a public tender in October last year for the tunnel project’s second phase, i.e., the flyover on the tunnel’s north side, for which a total of 11 construction companies submitted their bids, which were unsealed by DSOP officials last month. All bids were accepted. The public tender also comprises final design plus construction.
2nd phase to cost b/w 413 million & 438 million patacas
According to last month’s DSOP announcements, the quotations for the tunnel project’s second phase (final design plus construction) proposed by the 11 bidders range from 413 to 438 million patacas.
The public tender has set a maximum period of 600 working days for the completion of the project’s second phase, with the first 100 working days earmarked for the completion of its final design. According to last month’s DSOP announcements, the final design and construction periods proposed by the 11 bidders are identical, 540 working days.
Consequently, according to calculations based on the quotations submitted for the limited tender, which were unsealed yesterday, and those submitted for the public tender, which were unsealed last month, the Big Taipa Hill Tunnel project will cost between 1.2 and 1.55 billion patacas in total.
The bureau also said yesterday that the construction of the tunnel and the two flyovers on its south side was now expected to get off the ground in the third quarter of this year, a change from last year’s DSOP announcement which said that the construction was expected to start in the second quarter of 2025.
The bureau said last month that the construction of the flyover linking the tunnel’s north side at Pac On district with the sea-crossing Macau Bridge was expected to get off the ground in in the second quarter of 2025.
The future Big Taipa Hill Tunnel will enable drivers to travel directly between Macau Bridge and Cotai.
The sea-crossing Macau Bridge, which opened in October last year, connects Taipa island’s Pac On district and the Macau peninsula’s Zone A land reclamation area and its adjacent man-made island where the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) Macau checkpoint is located.
The DSOP website notes that “a straight traffic line” between Rotunda do Aeroporto (飛機場圓形地) near Cotai and Pac On where Macau Bridge lands is currently blocked by Big Taipa Hill, known as 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).
Currently, without a tunnel under Big Taipa Hill, vehicles travelling between Macau Bridge and Cotai have to use the very busy Estrada de Pac On (北安大馬路) and Avenida Wai Long where the airport and the Taipa Ferry Terminal are located.
The future Big Taipa Hill Tunnel will provide drivers with a direct link between Macau Bridge and Cotai.
The artist’s rendition downloaded from the Public Works Bureau’s (DSOP) website yesterday shows the future Big Taipa Hill Tunnel’s flyovers on its south side.
