A new campus of the University of Macao (UM) on an island which is part of China's southern coastal city of Zhuhai was expected to be completed within three years, said Tse Chi-Wai, chairman of UM's University Council, on Saturday.

The ninth session of the Standing Committee of China's 11th National People's Congress (NPC) passed on Saturday a bill to authorize the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) to exercise jurisdiction over the new UM campus on Hengqin Island, the whole of which is under the jurisdiction of Zhuhai of Guangdong Province.

The central government's approval for providing the UM with a piece of land on the island and the NPC Standing Committee's jurisdiction authorization over the new campus have solved the problem of land scarcity that has hindered UM's development for a long time, said Tse at a press conference held here.

According to the statistics from the UM, the area per student of the university's current campus is only eight square meters, far less than the minimum 67-square-meter standard set by China's Ministry of Education. Located on a narrow hilly strip and surrounded by casinos in Macao, the UM has over 6,000 registered students for the time being.

UM's new campus, covering an area of approximately one square kilometer, will be located on the eastern part of Hengqin Island, the site of which is just across a narrow water channel from Macao, according to the UM. A tunnel will be built under the channel to enable 24-hour commuting between the campus and Macao. UM's faculty, students, staff, visitors and the Macao residents will be able to access the campus through the tunnel without going through any border control.

The SAR's Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah also said when addressing the press conference that the Macao SAR being granted the jurisdiction over UM's new campus is a "generous gift" from the central government, and fully demonstrates the superiority of the "one country, two systems."

Ho also said that the new campus will help push forward the SAR's talent development plan and Macao's next generation will have the opportunity to receive quality local higher education.

The new campus will be 20 times larger than the current one, with a minimum accommodation capacity of 10,000 students. Once the new campus is in use, the current one will continue to serve for educational, academic, cultural, recreational and sports activities that are relevant to the Macao community, Tse said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2009)