An Overview of Construction in Macau & the Cotai Strip

My previous blog article on Land Reclamation in Hong Kong touched on reclaimed land in Hong Kong and also in Macau, which included the reclamation of Cotai. The past 10 years in Macau has seen an unimaginable number of new developments being built, completely transforming the size, shape and character of Macau. Macau’s economy has seen fantastic growth in recent decades.  Since 2002, with the opening up of the gaming industry and the liberal capital flows this created, Macau has risen to the centre of the world gaming economy, surpassing Las Vegas in 2006 after a rise in Macau’s GDP by 16.6%.

And as 2013 draws to a close and 2014 looms, there is a second construction boom beginning in Macau, creating numerous vacancies for construction professionals in the building, leisure, hotel, fit out and casino sectors . Construction professionals with engineering, quantity surveying, planning, estimating and construction management experience are urgently needed.

The Macau Proposition
Macau is situated a one hour ferry ride away from Hong Kong and offers with that a combination of the two territories an accessible distance from each other. The two regions have a lot of similar characteristics, both previously colonial outposts, both Special Administrative Regions of China and both relatively similar with respect to accommodation prices, restaurants and leisure activities. This being said, Macau offers something that Hong Kong does not…the Cotai Strip.

The Cotai Strip is a term coined by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and its Chairman and CEO, Sheldon Adelson, with regard to the strip of hotels and casinos in the Cotai section of Macau. As mentioned, Cotai was the result of a major land reclamation project which joined the two islands of Coloane and Taipa, and is a measure of the Macau government's unceasing efforts to expand the SAR’s territory. The reclaimed land in Cotai is being used mainly for the ongoing ground-breaking developments they are planning and constructing.

However, the Cotai Strip is not all that is on offer in Macau. Located on the East of the Pearl River Delta, Macau possesses a fascinating history due to it having been rented by the Portuguese as a trading port from China from the 1550’s. Administered by the European power until 1887, when it became a full Portuguese colony. Sovereignty was handed back in 1999 and the extended period in which Portugal controlled Macau has left colonial and archaic architecture fitting of a Mediterranean town; many attractive churches, castles and cobbled pavements can be found in Taipa, just a short drive away from Cotai.

The New Macau Construction Projects:
The major projects that are being developed in Cotai include projects developed by the world renowned names of MGM, Galaxy, Melco, Wynn, Sands & SJM. The developments that are being constructed and expanded upon will be the largest buildings, (never mind casinos), in the world.

These new resort developments offer thousands of hotel rooms including gaming floor space in the range of 600,000 square feet and beyond. Construction projects in Macau are luring construction professionals of all levels and specialities to Macau to become involved in the world’s largest and most exciting casino and hotel construction projects. The salaries, packages and projects are attracting premium engineers, commercial managers, and quantity surveyors from Hong Kong, Asia and all around the world.

If you are interested in the fantastic salary packages and career opportunities available in Macau and the Cotai Strip, please submit your updated CV via the Maxim Recruitment website to begin the selection process. Good luck!

Dan Kirk
Recruitment Consultant
Hong Kong and Macau