The Macau government expects to spend 18 billion yuan (21.57 billion patacas) on its Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town project, which is being developed in three phases, the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs told the media yesterday.
The committee held a meeting yesterday to approve and sign a report summarising the information previously provided by the Macau government about its plan and budget for the university town project. Yesterday’s meeting was held behind closed doors, after which lawmaker Becky Song Pek Kei, who chairs the committee, briefed reporters about the meeting.
The university town’s first phase consists of transitional teaching and research facilities in Hengqin to be 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), making it 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 Plaza (德智廣場) in Hengqin, 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 (“Virtue and Wisdom”) Plaza will now be shared by UM, MPU, and UTM for the operation of their respective transitional teaching and research facilities.
During yesterday’s media briefing, Song noted that the university town’s first phase in Dezhi Plaza will start operating later this month. The transitional teaching and research facilities in Dezhi Plaza shared by the three universities cover a gross floor area of 65,000 square metres, she noted.
Song also noted that the university town’s second phase is UM’s new campus in Hengqin, the partial and full operation of which is slated for 2028 and 2029, respectively. The facilities on the campus will cover a gross floor area of 718,000 square metres.
Song said that the third phase consists of the new campuses of MPU and UTM in Hengqin, construction of which is slated to start in 2027 and be completed in 2030. Facilities in the third phase are expected to cover a gross floor area of 970,000 square metres, she said.
Song also quoted the government as saying that the university town’s three phases are expected to ultimately accommodate over 20,000 students. Construction of the three phases is expected to cost 18 billion yuan in total.
According to Song, the university town’s three phases will maintain the same operating standards as the main Macau campuses. Moreover, students from any of the three universities can share facilities such as libraries and sports complexes across the town.
This artist’s rendition downloaded from the University of Macau’s (UM) website yesterday shows a part of its future campus in Hengqin, i.e., the second phase of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town.
