Inside Asian Gaming

March 2011 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 11 Macau Infrastructure until the public transport system becomes more widespread and reliable, locals will not give up their cars and motorcycles. The first phase of the LRT includes a station at the Hengqin/ Cotai border that will eventually connect to the final phase of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway, enabling passengers to travel directly from Guangzhou to the Macau border in one hour. Michael Lam Soi-hoi, a technical consultant at the Transportation Infrastructure Office, told local media: “This will create a one-hour travel radius connecting Macau, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. This is part of a plan for seamless regional integration with the Pearl River Delta.” The Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway opened to the public in January 2011, but it is considered impractical because connecting stations in downtown Zhuhai are yet open, having been seriously delayed following disputes over land acquisition and redevelopment. The only station to have opened so far in Zhuhai is in Jinding, far from the border with Macau at Gongbei. Following the lukewarm response to the new railway, the Central Government ordered the speedy completion of the other Zhuhai stations by late 2011 or early 2012 “at any cost”. The Zhuhai authorities also announced plans to extend the railway to Hengqing and Zhuhai Airport. Waiting for connections—the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway Coming up—renderings of some of Macau’s planned LRT stations Once the Zhuhai stations open, tourist inflows into Macau could mushroom. Another driver of visitation to Macau will be the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, scheduled for completion in 2014. Macau’s overstretched transportation network struggled to cope with 25.0 million visitor arrivals in 2010. Macau desperately needs to ramp up its infrastructure development in order to keep up with