The Macao Special Administrative Region government is planning to increase Macao's land area by 13 percent in the coming years, local media reported Monday.

The land enlargement plan will be conducted through reclamation from the sea, Ao Man Long, secretary for Transport and Public Works, was quoted by the Macao Post Daily as saying.

A total of four separate land reclamation projects are hopefully to increase Macao's land area by 3.6 square kilometers to 31.1 square kilometers, according to the newspaper.

It reported that one of the planned reclamation areas was located near the would-be Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, which will link the three economic power-houses in southern China's Pearl River Delta region.

The reclamation areas are to accommodate up to 120,000 people, said Ao, the official.

The city now has a population of 480,000.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)