Building the city of tomorrow THE FUTURE OF MACAO

Perched strategically on the western bank of China’s Pearl River Delta, Macao’s rich cultural history owes much to its location, and the often strained relationship between China and the west.

Visitors have long been drawn to Macao to see the glorious colonial buildings, cobbled streets, and shops that have stood the test of time. But in the last few years, the Chinese-administered peninsula has launched a series of ambitious projects that have set the stage for a new Macao.

Macao’s appeal is in its rich history — evidenced in its classification as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In fact, 50 per cent of its GDP comes from tourism. But it’s not just the history that will entice visitors; it’s the playground of casinos that are getting a facelift, and the infusion of some of the world’s best hotels.

For example, the City of Dreams, the Sands Cotai Central, the Galaxy Macau, and The Venetian Macao, are all located on the Cotai Strip. The aptly named City of Dreams includes a plethora of shops, almost 500 gaming spaces and tables, and the largest water-based show in the world.

The 224,000m² Galaxy Macau, alone, comprises of three five-star hotels with more than 2,000 luxury rooms more than 50 food and drink outlets, and a 2,700m² high-end retail area. If that’s still not enough to whet your appetite, the resort also features a 6,000m² wave pool and two heated pools that are open to the general public.

Meanwhile, the Venetian, a luxury resort, towers over the strip at 39 storeys, and is the largest single structure hotel building in Asia. It regularly hosts world-class performers in an interior designed to evoke the charming canals of Venice, complete with gondoliers.

The Cotai Strip was developed through an extraordinary feat of engineering, a land reclamation project so big that it could technically be recognised as small city in itself. It’s well worth viewing, if only as a reminder that not long ago there was nothing here but water.

Innovating transit

Since liberalising its gaming market to international license holders, it has become increasingly clear how interconnected Macau and its neighbouring regions (Guangdong and Hong Kong) are when it comes to the health of their respective economies.

For travellers, this is a bonus. With the proposed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) due to open in the near future, travel times between Macau and Hong Kong will be drastically reduced. The 9.4km, three-lane, dual carriageway is a collaboration between Zhuhai and Hong Kong SAR — places from which many travellers launch trips to Macau.

Other public and private engineering projects, such as the Pac On Ferry Terminal, also help make travel to Macau even easier with day trips to explore the city’s juxtaposition of centuries-old architecture and shiny new modern buildings more accessible than ever before.

For travellers to Macau, the benefits are more immediately obvious. Easier access to the peninsula, faster transport for getting around, and new prospects and developments are giving tourists and business travellers a whole new list of reasons to visit.

Though many of these developments are still in progress, the Macau of the future holds a lot of promise. As excitement builds, so does the number of possible ways in which the region can grow. In time, Macau will be known as much for its cutting-edge modernity as it has been for its egg tarts and unique history.