Construction of Macau International Airport’s upstream cargo terminal in Hengqin has fully commenced, after the project’s groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this week, with the new facility scheduled to come into operation in the first half of 2027.
Local airport operator CAM, Macau International Airport Company Limited, first announced basic details of the project late last year. Various kinds of preparatory work were underway on the site earlier this year, before a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Tuesday formally marking the full commencement of the project.
The future upstream cargo terminal in Hengqin, officially known as Macau International Airport Hengqin Upstream Cargo Terminal, aims to lower logistics costs for goods exported by businesses in nearby Guangdong cities, including cross-border e-commerce goods, via the Macau airport.
Further details of the project were presented by CAM during the groundbreaking ceremony.
The 106-square-kilometre Hengqin island in Zhuhai City is officially known as Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
The upstream cargo terminal will be built on a 66,700-square-metre plot of land at the west end of Hengqin island. The complex, with a gross construction area of 97,600 square metres, will comprise a logistics warehouse, a multi-purpose office building, and other auxiliary facilities.
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.
The upstream cargo terminal project is developed by a joint venture company, Guangdong Hengqin Macau International Airport Logistics Company Limited, the establishment of which was jointly invested by CAM and COSCO SHIPPING Logistics & Supply Chain Management Company Limited, a subsidiary of the state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited.
According to the presentation during the ceremony, the future upstream cargo terminal is expected to be able to handle 300,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
The project is scheduled to be completed at the end of next year, after which the facility could come into operation in the first half of 2027.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by dignitaries such as Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the MSAR Director Zheng Xincong, Foreign Ministry Commissioner in the MSAR Liu Xianfa, Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip, Macau Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raymond Tam Vai Man, Ma Iao Hang, the chairman of CAM’s board of directors, and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited President Zhu Bixin.
This artist’s rendition downloaded from the website of COSCO SHIPPING Logistics & Supply Chain Management yesterday shows the future Macau International Airport Hengqin Upstream Cargo Terminal.
Dignitaries symbolically break ground on the upstream cargo terminal project in Hengqin on Tuesday. – Photo: COSCO
