The Macao Light Rail Transit extension to HE2 Station beneath Hengqin Checkpoint, at which passengers could transfer to Zhuhai Airport Urban Rail Transit Phase I, came under construction March 18.

The 2.2-km (1.4-mile) rail will extend from HE1 Station near Taipa Line's Lotus Bridge Station in Macao, continue along the Lotus Bridge via an overpass, and tunnel 900 m (984 yd) under the Shizimen Waterway.

Commencement ceremony at Hengqin Checkpoint [Photo by Li Jianshu / Guanhai App]

Costing 3.5 billion Macao pataca ($438 million), construction is being undertaken by Nam Kwong Real Estate and China Civil Engineering Construction. The Macao section will undergo evacuation and construction on pile foundations and a shield receiving well later this year. Already begun on the Hengqin side are traffic diversion, pipeline removal, deformation monitoring, geological reinforcement, foundation pit excavation, and support structure construction.

Upon operating in four years, the extension will help form a one-hour living circle within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Aside from boosting connectivity between Hengqin and Macao, it is to improve regional living standards and cater to increased passenger volume in the Deepened Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Zone.

Zhuhai Airport Urban Rail Transit Phase I saw its first bullet train leave Zhuhai Station in Gongbei on a 15-minute trip to Hengqin Chimelong Station on Aug 18. Phase II will travel 22.8 km (14.2 miles) from Chimelong to a terminus station at Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport. It is to be completed by early 2023.