Infrastructures a challenge to Cotai

[NuncaPior]

The yankees are worried...

Infrastructures a challenge to Cotai



How Macau’s infrastructure will be able to cope with future Cotai development is a concern for the local American community, the warden for the United States Consulate of Hong Kong and Macau, Reggie Martin, said.
On last weekend’s TDM Talk Show, Martin talked about how the local American community is adapting to Macau and revealed their main concerns and challenges. Looking at the Cotai development, local US citizens are worried “how to move thousands of people from point A to B. Is it enough to have taxis, ferries and airlines?” Martin questioned.
However, he quickly added, “The government is on top of this and will overcome it.”
In the business sector, the main obstacle US investors meet is “finding the right staffing”.

“The Macau government has been doing a fantastic job trying to balance local and foreign labour but I would think that [human resources] is one of the main challenges [for American businesses],” he stressed.

Apart from that, Martin praised how easy it is to register a company in Macau and to start a business. “Macau has been welcoming American companies. For instance more and more wine companies are willing to come to Macau because of the import/export tax. I don’t see too many other challenges,” he concluded.

In 2008 Macau eliminated a 15 percent tax on wine.

On a personal level, Americans find other kinds of obstacles when they move to Macau. “Most of the Americans, when they come here, have never left the United States, their State, their city and, for some, the area where they’re living in,” he said laughing.
He went on: “There are challenges in Macau like different languages, culture, rules and regulations, style of living, schooling if they have family, medical care…”

It is not easy to adapt to a new culture and city so far away from home but Martin says the community is overcoming the challenges. “In a positive way, the American community has done a great job of adapting to the Macau community.”

“It’s not an easy process but I can see that Americans have overcome certain obstacles they were experiencing here. Everything is going into place,” he said.

http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/ma...nge-Cotai.html

[hkskyline]

But there are so many free buses plying the casinos and the ferry terminal / border. I presume regular bus service is not bad either.

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

But there are so many free buses plying the casinos and the ferry terminal / border. I presume regular bus service is not bad either.

I agree.........though it depends on the operator.

Grand Lisboa for instance now requires that you get a pass to use the free shuttle bus service from the hotel to a destination point. The condition is that you must use a service of the hotel (i.e. play in the casino, eat at Grand Buffet, etc.) in order to get a free pass.

You can say that they are kind of stingy.......but in a way, it does make sense. In the past, most people just rode the free bus of Grand Lisboa without even setting foot in the hotel for even just thirty minutes.

Anyways, generally, I have to say that Macau is doing quite well so far (even with regards to infrastructure). Sure, there may be a *few teeny downsides* like how a small few Macau taxi drivers can't speak English (i.e. you tell them to go to Taipa......but they can't do it because they dunno what 'Taipa' is)........or that the airport is a piece-of-shit (i.e. Macau airport looks like a budget terminal).

Still, except for those shortcomings, everything in Macau is fantastic and I can only presume that things are indeed getting better even as I speak.

[NuncaPior]

Two comments.

1st Actually the Taxi service of Macau is crap for a so said "Tourist city". Taxis are few and you can find them only at the casinos' main door. On top of that taxi drivers are rude, arrogant and ignorant. I don't even hit their English skills as in Big China they should at least speak Mandarin, and they don't!

2nd Casino bus are way too many and they are being attacked in the Assembleia Legislativa de Macau by some non-casino related lawmakers. If they want to keep using and abusing of our roads they have to give something back to the people. Free rides were welcomed by the population - new policies (like the one you said about Lisboa) are certainly not welcome.

[Topoliok]

Hi guys! I need your help! I can't find any application with bus routes in Macau for my Android gadget which works in offline mode. Can you help me? Maybe you can say travel app with a such function? I downloaded a good app Experience Macau by Macau Goverment Tourist Office, but there is no such function.
I'm sorry for offtopic