The Macao Light Rail Transit extension to Hengqin has entered the tunnel construction stage in an all-round way now that an earth pressure balance (EPB) shield machine has rolled off the production line in Changsha, Hunan Province and passed acceptance tests.

China Railway Construction Heavy Industry specially designed and manufactured the "Macao-Hengqin 1" to operate in soft ground conditions containing water under pressure. It has a diameter of 7.98 m (26.18 ft) and length of 87 m (95 yd), making it the largest of its kind to be applied in Macao and the first rail transit project to use the shield method in the special administrative region.

Macao-based Nam Kwong Group is building the extension line, whichconsists of a viaduct, the river tunnel, and two stations. When the tunnel borer arrives, project implementation will face more arduous tasks and tests.

April 19 rollout ceremony of "Macao-Hengqin 1"

The 2.2-km (1.4-mile) rail runs on the viaduct from HE1 Station near Lotus Bridge Station of the Taipa Line in Macao, continues 900 m (984 yd) under the Shizimen Waterway alongside the Lotus Bridge to HE2 Station beneath Hengqin Checkpoint.

Construction began in March 2021, cost 3.5 billion Macao pataca ($438 million), and is expected to take three more years. Traffic diversion, pipeline removal, deformation monitoring, geological reinforcement, foundation pit excavation, and support structure construction are underway on the Hengqin side.

The extension is to improve connectivity between Hengqin and Macao along with regional living standards and help form a one-hour living circle within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Project layout [Photos courtesy WeChat account: hengqinzaixian2021]