Macau on track for cross-border growth with new transport links and tourism infrastructure

Macau is looking at an increasingly rosy future. A mammoth new bridge is scheduled to connect the city with Zhuhai and Hong Kong by the end of this year. There is also the prospect of a light rail system easing traffic congestion; a new ferry terminal on Taipa; and a raft of new hotels planning to commence operations. There is also talk of improvements to the airport and the development of hotels and theme parks on Hengqin Island, on the mainland side of the border near Cotai.

A report by senior analyst Vitaly Umansky for Sanford C. Bernstein, an investment bank, pointed to other signs of progress in the region, such as Zhuhai’s joining China’s high-speed rail system, as being likely to have a beneficial effect on the city’s economy.

Umansky estimated that Macau’s penetration of the potential mainland market – households earning more than US$15,000 per month – is extremely low, and that better transport links would be the solution to attracting visitors from across the border.

Macau’s per-capita GDP is rated at an impressive US$98,000, and the Economist Intelligence Unit has predicted the city will experience growth in excess of 5 per cent in the coming year. Casino revenues, which are a prime source of income for the city’s coffers, are on the rise, registering an 8 per cent year-on-year increase to 19.8 billion patacas last December. Analysts have predicted a 7 per cent increase in gambling revenues this year, with mass market players leading the recovery.

Of all the changes Macau is witnessing, the Macau, Zhuhai and Hong Kong Bridge is judged to be most likely to have an immediate impact. While the 42km-long bridge may be facing cost overruns well in excess of its original HK$117 billion billing, the prospect of an improved transport network spanning the Pearl River Delta could benefit all the three cities.

Comparisons have been drawn with other major infrastructure projects around the world, such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in the United States and the Øresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden, which both cut journey times significantly and enhanced the economic climate.