Macau light rail goes aheadwithout stops in poor areas

South China Morning Post
Fox Yi Hu
2007-10-14

Macau light rail goes aheadwithout stops in poor areas

Poor neighbourhoods in Macau will be bypassed by a HK$4 billion light rail, work on which will start in January and be finished in late 2011.

The 20km line will run along the eastern and southern fringe of Macau Peninsula and onto Taipa Island through a bridge, linking various casinos with the Border Gate checkpoint, the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and the airport.

There will be 23 stops on the elevated line, which will be able to move 16,000 passengers an hour, according to plans approved last week.

Activists who fought for the lower-income districts to be linked yielded to the plan, saying "half a loaf is better than none". Union leader Tang Kuok-leong said most workers would prefer to see the project go ahead despite their inability to change the government-designated route.

"The government would not listen. We can only hope the light rail's second phase will connect to the northwestern districts," he said.

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si-io said the government would study the feasibility of building a northwestern spur after the first phase's completion in 2011.

Legislator Ng Kuok-cheong has been arguing for the rail to connect Ilha Verde, a northwestern district where population growth of 100,000 is expected in the next four years because of home construction.

He said most local commuters, other than casino workers, would benefit little from a rail line that ran along the coastline.

"The rail system in Las Vegas was funded by casinos, but our government uses public money to help casinos amass tourists," Mr Ng said.

Nevertheless, the rail link might help reduce traffic jams by taking tourists off the roads, he said.

Traffic jams have become a frustration as the number of private cars has surged with the casino boom. In the first eight months of this year, 14,866 new vehicles - including motorcycles - were registered in Macau, 26.5 per cent more than for the same period last year. The city covers just 28 sq km.
More than 3,000 motorcyclists protested on September 30 against a deeply unpopular traffic law and especially a lack of parking spaces for them.

The government had drawn up three unsuccessful plans to build a mass transit system since 2003 before it unveiled the light-rail plan in July. After a 45-day consultation in August and last month, the final plans were published on Friday with little change from the July proposal. Tenders will soon be sought.

Some of the protesters at a National Day rally expressed anger over the government's refusal to run the link through the northwestern districts.
Macau's popularity as a tourist destination - with 22 million visitors last year - has created problems for officials.

Ferries are the main method of transporting them to and from the former enclave, and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal has been feeling the strain of dealing with 200 to 300 sailings a day.

A new ferry terminal known as Pac On is being built on the north of Taipa Island to ease pressure on the city's two existing ones. At least five ferry companies are expected to operate at the new terminal, which will also feature a heliport. Part of the terminal may open by the end of the year.

The Venetian will also operate a fleet of 10 high-speed ferries between Hong Kong and Macau once the new ferry terminal is completed.