Local airport operator CAM vowed yesterday to leverage its Hengqin resources, further advance its core projects such as further expanding and upgrading its facilities and introducing smart security equipment and One ID – unified identification system that aims to simplify and streamline the process of user authentication across various services at the airport.
CAM Chairman Simon Chan Weng Hong revealed details of the company’s development, expansion and reclamation projects in a presentation during yesterday afternoon’s Spring Festival luncheon hosted at MGM COTAI for local media representatives and Macau-based correspondents.
Chan, a former president of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM), said he expected the Hengqin Upstream Cargo Terminal project to kick off in the first quarter of this year and be completed next year, apart from “systematically implementing infrastructure upgrade initiatives.”
According to the Macau International Airport Development Plan 2025, a summary of which was released to the media yesterday, Guangdong Hengqin Macau International Airport Logistics Co. Ltd. successfully bid for a 66,700 square metre plot of land for logistics use in November 2024, which will be constructed for the Upstream Cargo Terminal of the Macau International Airport in Hengqin in conjunction with COSCO Shipping.
An upstream cargo terminal refers to a facility that handles the initial stages of cargo movement, typically associated with the transportation and storage of goods before they are shipped to downstream locations (such as distribution centres or retail outlets).
Chan also said that the airport’s 2025 expansion and reclamation drive includes three major sub-projects – Runway Pavement Rehabilitation Project; Upgrade Project for the Departure Security Channels and Departure Areas, and Transit Corridor and Arrival Channel Renovation, “all aimed at continually enhancing the service capacity” of the airport.
According to Chan, the Runway Pavement Rehabilitation Project is slated to start in the fourth quarter, while the renovation of the departure security channels and departure areas is planned to begin in the current quarter, “with improvements anticipated by mid-year and completion targeted for the third quarter.”
Chan also said that “in the future, the Taipa Ferry Terminal and the Taipa Ferry Terminal Heliport, as well as the Macau International Airport will achieve seamless connectivity, facilitating coordinated sea and air transport, so as to enhance travel convenience for passengers in the surrounding areas, thereby providing critical transportation support for the development of the Greater Bay Area”.
Chan also said he expected the single-runway airport to reach a passenger movement of 8.5 million this year, compared to last year’s 7.6 million, which would result in a year-on-year growth of nearly 12 percent. Last year’s passenger volume rose by 48.3 percent year on year.
On the cargo front, Chan expected an increase from 108,107 tonnes last year to 113,000 tonnes this year, i.e., an expected year-on-year growth of 4.5 percent.
Chan also announced the launch of the airport’s One ID system this year, which by using facial recognition technology, allowing passengers to “show their face” at different checkpoints or touchpoints to verify their identity, without having to repeatedly present their travel documents and boarding passes, enabling “token enrolment”, i.e., the process of registering a security token or device that is used for authentication or authorisation purposes, involving facial image, passport information and boarding pass data at check-in counters, Common Use Self-Service (CUSS) Kiosks, auto bag drops, security channels, immigration counters, and self-boarding gates.
Meanwhile, CAM Chairman of the Board of Directors Ma Iao Hang said in a speech at the start of the luncheon that the company’s total revenue last year is estimated to have reached 1.47 billion patacas, a year-on-year growth of 5.1 percent, or 81 percent of the revenue recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.
CAM Marketing Director Eric Fong Hio Kin told reporters on the sidelines of the luncheon that his company was negotiating with AirAsia the launch of new routes from Macau. He also said that CAM was in talks with Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines in an attempt to attract more tourists from the Middle East to Macau. Fong said that for the time the focus was on arranging regular charter flights from the Middle East.
Ma said that this year “multiple infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing safety, improving efficiency and optimising services will be launched, thereby providing passengers with a safe, more convenient, and comfortable travel experience”.
The airport will celebrate its 30th Anniversary on November 9.
CAM Board of Directors Chairman Ma Iao Hang addresses yesterday’s Chinese New Year media luncheon at MGM COTAI. – Photos: CAM
CAM Executive Committee Chairman Simon Chan Weng Hong gives a presentation on the airport operator’s development plan for this year during yesterday’s luncheon.
