Bridge Spanning over HK, Zhuhai and Macao to be Set Off

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Bridge Spanning over HK, Zhuhai and Macao to be Set Off

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Happy news spread out from the sixth tripartite conference for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Cooperation held on August 5, 2003. It says that the three parties of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao was going to set up a coordination group for the antecedent work in the construction of a giant bridge to stride over Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The work includes the appraisal of the economic effect and environmental protection and other problems. This shows that the engineering work of the giant bridge linking up the three parts has now entered into the phase of operation.

Plan put forward some 20 years ago

Judging from the name the bridge is a very large one to span over the sea by linking up Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. The person who's the earliest to put forward the initial program was Sir Gordon Ys Wu, President of Hong Kong Hopewell Holdings Limited, reputed as "King of Capital Construction" but due to various reasons it was laid aside.

Beginning from this year the construction of the bridge has received a great attention from many aspects of life with the situation tending to be clearer. In the early days of January, Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR pointed out in his administration report, Hong Kong had to strengthen the connection with the Pearl River Delta area. It's necessary to open a road leading to the west, namely to build a bridge to stride over Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. In March, an expert group sent by the State Development and Reform Commission, formerly the State Planning Commission, came to Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai for an on-the-spot study and survey, discussing on the construction of the giant bridge spanning over the three places and the relevant goods flow in south China. The expert group submitted the report to the State Council by the end of last June.

First Meeting to be called on Aug 30

As learned, the members of the coordination group for the antecedent work include representatives from the three parties of Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and from the State Development and Reform Commission. The group is going to call its first meeting on Aug 30, discussing on the economic effect, the run of the bridge and environmental protection and hydrological problems with the expenses to be shared out by the tripartite parties. When the report is completed it will first be handed over to the coordination meeting held between the inland and Hong Kong on the large-scale construction for examination and approval and then further to the State Development and Reform Commission for project filing. The initial way to be adopted for the bridge construction is to construct - operate - shift over and the estimated expenditure is around RMB 15 billion yuan.

Nursing a large economic ring in the Pearl River Delta

The trans-sea giant bridge spanning over Shanghai and Ningbo integrates the Yangtze River Delta into one whole body. Scholars of Guangdong and brain-trusts of Hong Kong hold that a bridge flying over the three places of Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao will not only help circulate the economic veins in the big Pearl River Delta, motivate its economic development in the western part of the delta and nurse a bigger economic ring of the area, but also further strengthen Hong Kong's economic radiance to the central and southwest China.

Hong Kong has its connection on land only in the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta. The Huanggang Port serves the main channel for the goods flow between the two places and is known with a very heavy traffic. The freeways leading from Beijing to Zhuhai and to the coastal areas of Guangdong are by-and-by going to get through. The only default link is that between Hong Kong and Zhuhai. For the moment, the nearest way from the southwest of the Pearl River Delta to Hong Kong takes at least one hour by boat, with the short-cut on land to connect Nansha in Guangzhou and Dongguan is to go by Humen Bridge, taking at least two hours' drive. As the traffic is not quite easy the investment by Hong Kong businessmen is mainly centered in the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta.

According to the report delivered recently by Hong Kong Environment, Transport and Works Bureau the distance from Hong Kong to Macao and Zhuhai will be reduced to 30 kilometers requiring only a drive of half a hour. The report points out, up to 2020, the traffic increase between Hong Kong and the western part of the Pearl River Delta will number somewhere between 38.93 to 54.12 million person/times with a goods flow of 46.73 to 62.17 million tons should there is no bridge flying over the three places. However, by the time of 2020 the number of passenger flux will be increased to somewhere between 44.86 to 65.01 person/times, a rise of 15 to 20 percent if the huge bridge is going to be completed.

When the bridge is completed the western part of the Pearl River Delta will be within the 3-hour life cycle of Hong Kong, stirring up the economic development of the area. At the beginning of the year, Mr. Leung, Chief economist of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council pointed out by saying the completion of the giant bridge will help Hong Kong goods flow to cover the whole western part of the Pearl River Delta, providing Hong Kong an extra portion of 30 to 35 percent goods sources for its shipping at sea and air-transport business.

People's Daily Online, Reprinted in the Global Times

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