Light rail transit is currently under construction in Macau with a section being created in the Taipa region. The system was supposed to be operational by 2019 but according to the Secretary for Transport and Public Works of Macau, the deadline may not be reached.

Raimundo do Rosario stated earlier this week that he was worried that the section of the light rail in Taipa will not be operational by 2019. However, Rosario did say that he believes the section of the light rail as far as building work will be completed in that time frame.

Speaking with the city’s Legislative Assembly, Rosario stated that the Taipa section had seen previous setbacks with the rail depot and now are striving to meet the 2019 deadline. As far as operations by that time frame, the Secretary stated he is worried, making note that the government of Macau lacks experience in running such public transport systems. The LRT system will supposedly be run by a public company in the future.

The portion of the light rail in Taipa will have stops that will serve Cotai casino resorts and will be 9.3 kilometers long, which is 5.8 miles. There will be eleven stations included and the rail will link to the Macau International Airport as well as the Pac On ferry terminal that is near the airport.

One year ago, Rosario had stated the section of the system had the potential to be operational by 2019 and discussed that delays to the section were caused by setbacks when building the rail depot in Taipa. The company that had originally been hired to do the work for the depot was fired after the contract signed was terminated.

On Monday, Rosario told legislators that the government is focused on completing the construction portion of the section of the light rail system and would be extending it to the Barra District located on the Macao peninsula.

The rail link on the Macau peninsula section has no timetable as to when construction will begin. The government does plan on presenting a revised route for this portion of the rail by the end of the year.