High Hopes
The Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge is expected to lead a high-tech, high-finance transformation of the Pearl River Delta, but what will it mean for Macau’s already overstretched transport network?
The city’s newly appointed Transport Bureau director tells Closer residents can expect a better public transport system and increased cost of using private cars
The HK$42.72 billion Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge is a project too obvious to avoid. Designed to fill the gap in the Pearl River Delta’s transport network, it will tie the three cities together and allow for the expansion of under utilised areas in the south of the mainland. The link is the region’s largest prospective transport project.
Until recently, the bridge’s best-known problem was its very size; successive governments found the cost of the project difficult to finance and there has been delay after delay. But the central government solved that problem last month by agreeing to inject funds to ensure the project does not suffer any more delays. The funding arrangement means construction should begin by 2010. Under what is described as a cost-benefit principle, the three governments will meet the funding gap of HK$18 billion between the construction cost and the private sector investment. Hong Kong will cover 50.2 per cent of the gap, Guangdong and the central
government 35.1 per cent and Macau 14.7 per cent.
Such uncertain factors as traffic control, cost of using the bridge and relations between the three cities will all help dictate the number of cars and trucks on the link. No-one knows for sure exactly how the traffic flow will operate. Guangdong party chief Wang Yang says the bridge will have enormous benefit for the region. “There will be a bridge for Guangdong to reach out to the world,” Mr Wang said at a press conference >>
to announce the funding agreement last month. “The Pearl River Delta will be the most competitive region in the world in 30 years.”
But critics say while the 29.9km, dual three-lane bridge will benefit Zhuhai and Hong Kong, it will place unwanted pressure on Macau’s already overstretched infrastructure. Assistant Professor at Macau University’s Department of Government and Public Administration, Bruce Kwong, believes the bridge will bring very limited benefits to Macau. Professor Kwong says the project, which was suggested by Hong Kong in the 1980s, will benefit the underdeveloped economy of Zhuhai most. “I think very few people will travel to Macau from the mainland via the bridge, it is not convenient and there are licensing issues,” he says. “If they allow Hong Kong people to drive into Macau, we will get more people, but it will cause a lot of burden to Macau’s already stretched transport network. Macau is struggling already with the number of people.”
When it comes to Macau’s role in the project, Professor Kwong believes the city has no say. “For the Macau government they have no choice,” he says. “They can do nothing even if they wanted to, the decision has been made by the central government. They are willing to invest a lot of money because they want a better transport network from the west part of the Pearl River Delta to Hong Kong, that is what the project is all about. From Macau’s point of view, >>
we don’t really want a bridge because there will be no benefit.”
Director of Macao Polytechnic Institute’s Social, Economic and Public Policy Research Centre, Professor Zhonglu Zeng, agrees Macau will benefit the least out of the three cities. Professor Zeng says that even if more people come to Macau via the bridge, the city does not have the capacity to accept them. “Things are very difficult even now in Macau, you cannot get a car park, the streets are clogged with vehicles, taxis are hard to find and buses are already over full,” he says. “The planned railway will help with transportation of people but another problem will arise. Macau is a place for tourism and high rail will impact on the scenery of the place and make it not as beautiful. If the rail system can fit properly into the scenery then it will be more acceptable, but the cost of building underground will be much more. I do not know how we will cater for more people who come via the bridge.”
Professor Zeng says that without careful planning, the bridge project will place further stress on Macau’s limited capacity and most of the pain will be borne by Macau residents. He believes one of the most concerning aspects of the proposal is the lack of any real investigation. “There does not appear to have been any study of the benefit or the negative impact,” he says. “I have not seen anything like this, and now everything is ready, it is really very difficult for any party to withdraw.”
Director of Macau’s newly formed Transport Bureau Dr Wong Wan says it has been made very clear to Zhuhai and Hong Kong that Macau cannot accept more vehicles. Dr Wong says there are already “too many” vehicles on Macau’s roads now. According to figures from the Transport Bureau last month there were more than 80,000 cars and 80,000 motorcycles using the 400km of roads in Macau. This equates to about 400 cars every two metres. “It is already impossible and we are looking at ways to solve the problem,” Dr Wong says. “In terms of the bridge we will not allow so many vehicles from Hong Kong or Zhuhai inside Macau, drivers will have to park their cars and use public transport.”
Another concerning factor is obviously the state of Macau’s public transport system. Dr Wong says while the network is “working”, he concedes it is in need of great improvement. His Bureau plans to tackle the problem of three fronts; through improvements to the bus network, the light rail system (LRT) and providing a better walking environment for pedestrians. Dr Wong says the cost of owning and using a car in Macau will increase, limits will be put on the importation of vehicles and the cost of car parking will go up. Research is being conducted to determine the ideal number of vehicles that can safely be used on Macau’s limited road network. Once this has been completed, Dr Wong says controls will be introduced to help solve the congestion. “We will be looking at increasing the fees for the use of vehicles, annual taxes and car park fees,” he explains. “The whole idea is to establish a good public transport system and get people out of vehicles.” Other ideas include building express roads around the city, asking companies to stagger work start and finish times to avoid peak hour traffic jams and moving some services out of heavily congested areas. A large car park will be built at the bridge entrance to Macau and visitors will use the LRT to enter the city.
“We want to encourage people to use the public transport network, so we need to improve it,” Dr Wong says. “The LRT will be the main network to resolve the problems in Macau and we want a better bus network and walking system to compliment it.” The bus network upgrade is expected to take two years, work will begin on the pedestrian improvements next year and the LRT is scheduled for completion in 2011.
Urban planner and vice president of the Architects Association of Macau, Rui Leao, says there is an urgent need for planning in Macau. Mr Leao says if the government does not start to look long-term, the problems in Macau will continue to compound. “What we are seeing at the moment is the main objective of Macau is to become a bigger player attracting more and more people for tourism and gambling,” Mr Leao says. “The situation has become very unsustainable because there has been a lack of foresight, the circulation of people at the moment is extreme, once the bridge is open that is going to add more pressure and it is a less predictable influx of people. I am not so sure that this is a positive thing for Macau with the way things are.”
Mr Leao says it was about time the government realized that investment in urban design and architecture was not
about beautification, but rather solving people’s problems and improving the quality of life for residents. “We are lacking a lot of infrastructure for the kind of city we have become,” he says. “The LRT is very important, it will be important for it to become a network very quickly and it will solve many problems. But for most of the city we need subway lines, if the line is to be raised in the centre of the city it will be disastrous for Macau. We need to start discussing these issues and many others right now.”
Director of the Centre for China Urban and Regional Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, Professor Li Si-ming, believes Macau has plenty to gain from the bridge. While Professor Li agrees that Zhuhai will be the largest beneficiary due to its underdeveloped economy, he says there will be positives for all three cities. “Macau being a very small economy could benefit substantially from the project,” he says. “The bridge will improve the relationship between Macau and Zhuhai and this can only be good for Macau. Zhuhai has so much land and Macau is so small, if the two can start working together it could be a very worthwhile partnership.”
Such a partnership could see the need for continued land reclamation end. Professor Li says the strength of environmental groups in Hong Kong would mean such large scale land reclamation projects would not be politically viable, but in Macau the environmental “voices are weak so you can do whatever you like”. He warns that siltation is a major concern in the Pearl River and land reclamation cannot go on forever. “The central government really needs to intervene to get more land for Macau. The Macau government will continue to reclaim land, but across the channel Zhuhai has so much land which is still empty,” he says. “There is too much suspicion on both sides at the moment, working together on the bridge could help solve this. The space is too
small in Macau to allow it to function well, better coordination between Macau and Zhuhai could help solve this.”
No-one knows for sure just how traffic will be controlled on the bridge. Professor Li says he understands concerns about Macau’s traffic congestion, but there are ways of solving the problem. “All kinds of traffic control measures can be put in place on the borders to ensure the traffic flow is not an issue,” he says. “If Macau seriously wants to diversify its economy, the bridge could help the government think of other strategies outside of gaming.”
Macau International Airport could also be a beneficiary. Professor Li says with Hong Kong’s airport due to reach capacity in the coming decade, the bridge will create an opportunity for Zhuhai and Macau to capitalise on the situation. “Zhuhai airport has a capacity for 10 million people and the output is only about one million at the moment,” he says. “Also Macau could play a role here, if the trio work together it will bring benefit to all.”
Professor of Political Science and coordinator of research at Macau Inter-University Institute, Eric Sautede, says sea transportation is not enough for the number of visitors coming to Macau. Professor Sautede sees the bridge as a positive for Macau and the Pearl River Delta. “For transportation of people or goods, it can only be a good thing for Macau,” he says. “It is true that the government did not envisage the type of problems Macau is facing now and it is reacting very slowly, but I do not think the bridge will add to the existing traffic problems, it could actually ease some of the traffic in terms of trucks. I really cannot see any negative effects.” Professor Sautede says an added bonus for Macau is that due to the tax structure, the casinos will be paying for the majority of Macau’s outlay for the project.
