The Macao Light Rail Transit extension to Hengqin will come under construction soon and enter trial operation in four years, the Special Administrative Region Government announced Feb 19.

Route of Hengqin extension line of Macao Light Rail Transit [Photo courtesy WeChat account: macaoinfo]

The 2.2-km (1.4-mile) rail will go from HE1 Station near Taipa Line's Lotus Bridge Station, continue along the Lotus Bridge via an overpass and pass through the Shizimen Waterway in a 900-m (984-yd) immersed tunnel to HE2 Station beneath Hengqin Checkpoint. Passengers can then transfer to other means of transport at a portal complex to be built at the former Lotus Checkpoint.

Macao-based state-run Nam Kwong Group will build the line at a cost of 3.5 billion Macao pataca ($438 million). Upon completion, the rail line will help integrate Macao into the one-hour living circle of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and boost connectivity with cities in the Chinese mainland.

The Taipa Line commenced services on Dec 10, 2019. With 11 stations en route, it covers the main residential communities and tourist sites on Taipa Island, and links with the three major sea, land, and air ports of Macao.

In terms of water transport, a ferry route will open March 1 between Jiuzhou Port and Taipa with 10 pairs of shifts available daily, according to a Feb 19 public notice by the Zhuhai Bureau of Commerce.