Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai yesterday paid an inspection visit to the first phase of the Macau government’s Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, located in Dezhi Plaza (德智廣場) in Hengqin, which will start operating on August 17, according to a statement by the Macau Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) last night.
Through the visit, the statement said, Sam aimed to gain a better understanding of the teaching facilities and the ongoing preparation for their upcoming operational start.
The Macau government plans to develop its Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town project in three phases. The first phase consists of transitional teaching and research facilities used by three Macau public universities, namely the University of Macau (UM), the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macao University of Tourism (UTM), before the completion of their respective new campuses in Hengqin.
The UM is currently constructing its new, second campus on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island. The future new campus will be the university’s first campus outside the jurisdiction of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and it will be the university’s second campus. Geographically, both campuses are located in Hengqin, but the first, current one is under the MSAR’s direct jurisdiction on a plot of land, covering one square kilometre, leased from the Chinese mainland.
Dezhi (“Virtue and Wisdom”) Plaza, a property development project consisting of about a dozen high-rise and low-rise buildings, was initially slated to operate as a “German City” commercial complex, but it has been converted into the first phase of the university town project.
The converted Dezhi Plaza will now be shared by the UM, the MPU, and the UTM for the operation of their respective transitional teaching and research facilities.
The university town’s second phase is the UM’s new campus in Hengqin, the partial and full operation of which are slated for 2028 and 2029, while the third phase is the new campuses of the MPU and the UTM in Hengqin, construction of which, according to the Macau government’s previous announcements, is slated to start in 2027 and be completed in 2030.
Yesterday’s DSEDJ statement noted that the transitional teaching and research facilities in Dezhi Plaza shared by the three universities cover a gross floor area of 65,000 square metres.
The statement underlined that the site’s various facilities have now been fully prepared for their upcoming operation, including teaching and office buildings, dormitories, canteens, and scientific research laboratories. The three universities will run various postgraduate programmes in the first-year operation of the site, expecting to have 1,400 students in total, the statement said.
According to the statement, Sam, accompanied by other officials from Macau and Hengqin, toured facilities including classrooms, teaching laboratories, restaurants, student centres, and student dormitories. Sam was briefed by officials about the three universities’ upcoming teaching and research activities there.
Sam expressed satisfaction with the site’s facilities and the three universities’ upcoming teaching arrangements there, the statement said.
This handout photo taken yesterday shows an installation welcoming new students at the university town’s first phase, Dezhi Plaza in Hengqin.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (left) yesterday talks with students in the first phase of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, accompanied by officials including Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam (third from left) and University of Macau (UM) Rector Song Yonghua (second from left). – Photos: DSEDJ
