Macau Border Gate Set for $69 Million Upgrade

March 19, 2025

The tens of millions of individuals who pass through Macau’s primary border gate annually will soon discover an enhanced facility after what the local government is promoting as a significant overhaul of the checkpoint. 

Macau, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China, is an enclave requiring mainland visitors to secure visas individually or as a group for legal entry. The casino center is the sole location under China’s jurisdiction where casinos are permitted. Gambling serves as the economic engine for the area. 

Macau’s main Border Gate Checkpoint is situated at the northern edge of the city, next to the Gongbei area in Guangdong Province on the mainland. The immigration and customs inspection point is one of three land entry points into Macau, with the other two being the Lotus Bridge linking Hengqin Island and Macau’s Cotai, and the Qingmao Port-Macau Frontier Post located on the northwestern side of the Macau Peninsula. 

The primary Border Gate Checkpoint was inaugurated in January 2004, slightly over five years after Macau was returned to China from Portugal, and Las Vegas Sands initiated a bold investment to convert undeveloped territory on Cotai into what is now home to the city’s luxurious casino resorts along the Cotai Strip, regarded as Asia’s equivalent of Las Vegas. 

Entering Macau 

The Macau SAR Government announced that the Border Gate Checkpoint, known as Posto de Migração das Portas do Cerco in Portuguese, will undergo a renovation costing CNY500 million (US$69.18 million). GGRAsia, an online gaming news platform centered on Asia, states that the investment is part of “a broader revitalization effort” in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai. 

In 2024, Macau's Judiciary Police, responsible for overseeing border entries, recorded over 34.92 million visitor arrivals, marking an almost 24% rise compared to 2023. Of those totals, the land checkpoints enabled around eight out of 10 visitors, predominantly at the northern entrance. The other 20% came by air or sea and were handled through the customs facilities of the airport and sea terminals. 

The renovation costing over $69 million will involve a complete update of the people processing capabilities and aesthetic improvements. The underground shopping mall will also undergo a renovation. 

2025 Gradual Beginning 

Macau's gaming sector, the world's wealthiest, began slowly in 2025. February's Chinese New Year fell short of expectations, and for the two months, the total gaming revenue for the six casino operators — Sands, Galaxy, MGM, Melco, Wynn, and SJM — is merely 0.5% above January and February 2024. 

Macau's Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai cautioned that the government's forecasts for gaming revenue before 2025—essential for the city due to gaming contributing approximately eight cents of each tax dollar the local government obtains—might have been exaggerated given the current economic circumstances.

"The new economic cycle, consumption patterns, and class changes have slowed down the recovery from the pandemic,” Sam said.

Macau plans to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on casino gambling, which continues to be lower than pre-pandemic levels after Beijing compelled many VIP junket operators to shut down their businesses and stop bringing mainland high rollers to the tax haven gaming area. That diversification, nonetheless, will require time. 

“The structural problem of the gaming industry’s dominance will continue for a period of time and I am afraid that it will be difficult to realize a change in the short term,” Sam explained.