Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2011 10 M acau’s casino operators had more to celebrate last month than gaming revenues reaching yet another all-time record. The long anticipated light rail transit (LRT) project was also given a clear go-ahead, with the government awarding Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a contract valued at MOP4.68 billion (US$580 million) for the supply of trains and systems for the first phase. Scheduled for completion around May 2015—five years behind the government’s original plan—the first phase will connect the casino operators’ flagship properties on both the Macau Peninsula and Cotai with the Gongbei/Macau border, Macau Ferry Terminal, Macau International Airport and Taipa Ferry Terminal. The second phase, still under consultation, will connect A-Ma temple to Gongbei/ Macau to form a complete loop of Macau. First conceived in 2002, the LRT project was held up by concerns aboutthefeasibilityofbuildingelevatedtracksthroughoutadensely populated city with narrow streets, the inevitable disruption to residents’ lives, and potential damage to the city’s cultural heritage sites. The original plan was to build a railway connecting older parts of the city with the Gongbei/Macau border. That plan has been revised heavily in order for the LRT to better serve the ever-growing flow of tourists within the city by adding stations in the Macau and Cotai casino areas. Industry insiders expect the revised project to deliver a higher volume of visitors to casinos and encourage them to visit more than one casino. The first phase of the LRT is designed to transport 7,800 passengers in each direction per hour, and according to estimates, the hourly capacity will increase to 14,100 passengers by 2020. The trains will operate 19 hours a day and run at three to five minute intervals. Badly needed In recent years, the Macau government has sought to mitigate the city’s worsening traffic congestion by promoting public transport through such measures as subsidies for public bus operators and restricting private vehicles from entering some downtown areas during public holidays. Local commentators point out, however, that Fast Tracked Macau’s much-delayed light rail transit (LRT) project finally appears to be going full steam ahead ’s - l li t r il tr sit (L T) r j t ll rs t i f ll st