Ka-Ho Tunnel excavation underway

The excavation of the north and south ends of the Ka-Ho Tunnel is underway. Construction started in the third quarter of last year. Explosion-proof vents are expected to be built in order to facilitate future blasting work, according to local Chinese language newspaper Macao Daily.
In April 2014, the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) awarded Zhu Kuan Fomento Imobiliario Lda consortium a MOP254.1 million for the construction of the Ka-Ho Tunnel in Coloane.
Payment by the Macau Government to the company is to be made in four tranches, the first of which for 2014 was MOP96.6 million, while those for 2015 and 2016 are both of MOP70 million, while that for 2017 is MOP17.6 million.
The project is for a 500-metre long tunnel that will link the east of Cotai to the northeast tip of Coloane Island. GID said previously 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 navigate 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 reduce travel time for the said distance by 10 to 15 minutes.
Progress
Macao Daily quoted relevant parties as saying that the mountain the tunnel is situated in mainly comprises granite, and that the excavation will take time. Blasting will be conducted inside the explosion-proof vent, in order to lower the impact of the vibration on the mountain and machinery in the power plant in Colane. Authorities have requested the contractor to install monitoring facilities and collect data from every blast so that the amount of explosives can be more accurately calculated. The contractor is also required to use fences and water splash to reduce dust in a bid to lower the impact on surrounding areas.
The Coloane Ka-Ho Tunnel will be divided into three phases. Besides the main tunnel being excavated, the construction of the southern end of a 1.2 kilometre road was completed last year, and includes broadening the two-lane Estr. de Nossa Sra. de Ka Ho into four lanes. The third phase, which is the northern end of the tunnel to link eastern Cotai, will be implemented later. The whole construction is expected to be finished in 2017.