According to information from the contractor, construction of the new UM campus will be completed in late March or early April this year. After that the new campus will be delivered to the Macao SAR government, which will then hand over to UM as the user. Now the new campus project has entered the interior furnishing and decoration stage as UM is busy preparing for relocation. This issue of My UM has the latest.
Individual Buildings Have Entered the Interior Furnishing and Decoration Stage
According to the contractor, construction of the main structures of the underwater tunnel is expected to be completed around the end of this March, after which the tunnel should be ready for use. Currently, construction workers are in the process of installing interior secondary structures and electromechanical systems, removing temporary safety structures, and backfilling, etc. The more than 80 individual buildings have all entered the interior furnishing and decoration stage, and exterior wall works for these buildings have been almost finished. Excavation of the artificial lakes has been finished as well. Planting and greening have started in the surrounding areas of some individual buildings.
Numerous Items to Be Purchased
New campus construction has entered the final stage. Because the project will be completed three months behind schedule, UM hopes to enter the new campus as soon as possible so as to have sufficient time for pre-relocation preparations and arrangements. Currently tenders are being invited for numerous projects that are challenging, important and potentially time-consuming, including campus network, WiFi network, phone system, AV systems for classrooms and conference rooms, and furnishing and decoration for wet labs, just to name a few . Also, a lot of facilities and service will have to be repurchased after UM moves to the new campus. Nearly one hundred large-scale purchase items need to be followed up on, concerning comprehensive management of campus facilities; furnishing and decoration of labs; electromechanical engineering works; supply and installation of natural gas water heaters; design of the university exhibition hall, library, Learning Commons and supply and installation of furniture for them; design, supply and installation of electric curtains; and supply and installation of lab computers. Apart from the abovementioned work, there will also be a lot of other followup work, such as purchase of pantry cabinets, split-type air conditioners, movable partitions, and reception desks.
100,000 Pieces of Furniture to Be Purchased
The university is working against the clock to purchase over 100,000 pieces of furniture, equipment and facilities for offices, classrooms, conference rooms, auditoriums, dormitories, residential colleges, library, labs, faculties, university exhibition hall, computer labs, central classroom building, and restaurants, as well as electronic products like hand driers, water heaters, drinking fountains and water distillers. The availability of numerous sports venues on the new campus means that a large quantity of sports facilities, like audience seats and fitness facilities, need to be purchased. Part of the management services, such as security, cleaning, catering, sports facilities management, reception service, swimming pool maintenance, and lifeguard service, will need to be outsourced through open tendering.
Town Hall Meetings to Involve Everyone
Relocation to the new campus will be a huge project that requires the participation of everyone. Numerous Town Hall Meetings for students were held in late 2012, and this year there will be numerous Town Hall Meetings for staff, to ensure that everyone is involved in the planning and execution process for smooth relocation. To better coordinate relocation-related work, UM has established a relocation task force consisting of seven teams, each responsible for different planning, coordination or execution tasks. The Campus Relocation Student Affairs Sub-Command Centre has also been established to enhance communication with students.
