Results of the Transport and Communications Statistics for January to September 2007

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that number of licensed vehicles in Macao totalled 173,020 at the end of September 2007, an increase of 8% over the same month of 2006, of which 52% (90,651) were motorcycles and 41% (70,373) were light private cars. New registration of vehicles grew by 23% year-on-year to 16,601 in the first nine months of 2007, with motorcycles and light vehicles accounting for 62% and 35% respectively. From January to September of 2007, the number of traffic accidents grew by 2% over the same period of 2006 to 9,874 cases, which resulted in 3,410 casualties, including 13 deaths. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China rose by 15% to 2,804,743 vehicle trips. The Border Gate was the major passage that took up 81% of the total, while the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 528,888 vehicle trips. Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport totalled 36,911, up by 4% over the first nine months of 2006. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 45% and 34% respectively of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong grew by 4% year-on-year to 12,690, while 2,265 helicopter flights were recorded between Macao and Mainland China. Passenger transport by sea between Macao and Hong Kong rose by 9% compared with the first nine months of 2006 to 65,119 ferry trips; passenger ferry operating between Macao and Mainland China totalled 12,650 trips, up by 15%. For containerized cargo, total seaborne container throughput in the first nine months of 2007 increased by 2% to 100,685 TEUs or 70,173 containers handled, up slightly by 0.3% over the same period of 2006. Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo increased by 2% to 244,099 tonnes, of which 32,020 tonnes were transshipment goods. Meanwhile, gross weight of containerized cargo by land decreased by 11% to 53,461 tonnes, including 21,059 tonnes of transit goods. Outward cargo handled at the Macao International Airport fell by 21% year-on-year to 49,923 tonnes for the first nine months of 2007. Taiwan, China; Mainland China; and Luxembourg were the major destinations that accounted for 66%, 13% and 6% of the total respectively. Concurrently, inward air cargo decreased by 11% to 16,452 tonnes, of which cargos from Taiwan, China took a predominant share of 87%. In addition, transit air cargos handled dropped by 19% over the first nine months of 2006 to 66,285 tonnes. At the end of September 2007, number of mobile telephone and fixed line telephone users reached 732,329 and 177,945, up by 19% and 1% respectively over the same period of last year. Regarding internet services, number of subscribers increased to 117,129 and the cumulative hour of usage reached 127.4 million hours in the first nine months of 2007, up by 14% and 47% respectively year-on-year.