Daiwa Securities Group Inc., report issued on Thursday calls the 2016 opening of a new ferry terminal at Pac On, Taipa a possible “game changer for Cotai.”

According to the report, the new ferry will be capable of handling 40 ferries per hour which is an advantage over the four ferries per hour rate the temporary terminal next door can handle. In addition to the production increase, the new terminal will feature the Taipa-Cotai region’s first commercial helipads enabling landing places for passenger-carrying commercial helicopter services. Daiwa said the commercial helipad on Macau peninsula’s main ferry terminal has benefitted the city’s downtown casinos.

The shorter commute helps to maximize the amount of time casino customers can spend at the tables, and, “A high proportion of these clients travel to Macau via helicopter, and based on our checks, these patrons share a common characteristic: namely, their sensitivity to time, against travelling [to Macau] via ferries, travelling via helicopter saves a marginal 40-45 minutes per trip”, Daiwa stated in a note reported at ggrasia.com.

On September 8 Susana Wong Soi Man, director of the government’s Marine and Water Bureau, confirmed that Pac On ferry terminal operations earliest start date is sometime in the middle of next year, seven years past the original scheduled opening of date of 2009, and in excess of five times what the project was originally budgeted for.

On Taipa Island near Macau’s airport the Pac On ferry terminal’s primary purpose is to accommodate tourist traffic directly to Cotai resorts.