After suspending the previous deal following a dispute with the original contractor, the Transportation Infrastructure Office has re-launched the tender for the contract to construct a Light Rapid Transit depot for Cotai.

According to a report from the Teledifusao De Macau television and radio broadcaster, the government of Macau paid around $10.64 million to cancel the previous contract for the infrastructure project while the updated cost for a completed depot has now doubled to approximately $125.19 million.

This time around, authorities stated that they intended to institute a series of measures designed to supervise the progress of the stalled project including construction targets and punishment mechanisms.

“There are different stages and there are punishment terms,” Ho Cheong Kei from the Transportation Infrastructure Office told the broadcaster. “For each stage, the punishment terms will be different according the seriousness of the delay and the causes at that particular stage. The contract will be cancelled if the delay is too serious. With these measures, both parties can coordinate and make it more feasible than before.”

Ho declared that the depot is expected to be operational in 2019 while explaining that final decisions had yet to be made on the route for the Macau section of the Light Rapid Transit, possible adjustments to the design of the Barra station and whether to proceed with a Taipa extension to the mainland.

The government is also reportedly researching the possibility of extending the Light Rapid Transit system to neighboring Hengqin Island and is purportedly involved in negotiations with Guangdong provincial officials regarding border crossing criteria and other legal issues.