Gov’t approves MOP254.1mln for Ka-Ho tunnel

A Zhu Kuan Fomento Imobiliario Lda consortium has been granted MOP254.1 million for the construction of the Ka-Ho tunnel in Coloane. The payment by the Macau Government to the company will be made in four instalments, the first of which for 2014 is MOP96.6 million, while those for 2015 and 2016 are both of MOP70 million, and that for 2017 is MOP17.6 million. The dispatch was signed by Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On and published in yesterday’s Official Gazette. The project is for a 500-metre long tunnel that will link the east of Cotai to the northeast tip of Coloane Island. Construction was expected to begin in the third quarter of the year and last for at least two years. The Infrastructure Development Office (GID) announced at the end of April that the two-way tunnel, comprising four lanes, will have its northern entrance start near the Rua da Central Térmica de Coloane in eastern Cotai. The tunnel will be connected to the area near Ka-Ho Port, the northeastern tip of Coloane island where Macau Oil Terminal and Macau Cement Manufacturing Co Ltd are located. Currently, cars have to go through Estrada do Istmo, and the narrow Estrada da Barragem de Ká Hó, Estrada do Altinho de Ka Ho to traverse the urban zones of Coloane and Taipa to Ka-Ho. The tunnel is expected to cut travel time for the said distance by 10 to 15 minutes. S.F.