China's bridge across economic waters

Hong Kong is no stranger to major infrastructure projects: Chek Lap Kok International Airport, Hong Kong Disneyland, the West Kowloon Cultural District and – recently finalised – the redevelopment of the old Kai Tak Airport site. Projects have proceeded through boom and bust, SARS and bird flu. Whether it is tower blocks or entertainment complexes, the Special Administrative Region's appetite for building, bigger, higher and longer sees insatiable.

And now – the daddy of them all – a Y-shaped bridge and tunnel link between Hong Kong, Macau and the Chinese mainland at Zhuhai – in total around 50 kilometres of high-speed roadway, costing close to $11 billion and due to open in 2016.

The massive project, the longest bridge-tunnel sea crossing in the world and certain to be hailed as a modern wonder, is being constructed jointly by the Hong Kong and Macau governments, the provincial government of neighbouring Guangdong Province and the central authorities in Beijing. Its aim is to give momentum to the economic life of the area by slashing the travelling time and expense of carrying freight and passengers between the two sides of the Pearl River Estuary.

Principal Project Coordinator for the Hong Kong section of the work, James Shiu-on Chan, says at present land transport between Hong Kong and Macau involves a 200-kilometre detour taking in the Humen Bridge further up the Pearl River Estuary, a journey of around four hours.

"Water transport is also time-consuming and easily affected by bad weather. With the bridge and tunnel we will have an efficient, reliable link that will take drivers around 45 minutes at the bridge's speed limit of 100km/h," he said.

"We need this link to maintain and build on the economic cooperation between Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong and especially to promote the development of the west coast of the Pearl River [the Macau side] which is lagging behind that of the eastern side.

"It will also widen the area of economic development and enhance the general competitiveness of the Pearl Delta in relation to other parts of China."

Work on the Hong Kong side of the project involves the creation of a 150-hectare artificial island close to the Chek Lap Kok International Airport at Lantau. A similar artificial island is being constructed off Zhuhai on the other side of the delta. These will contain immigration and passport controls (still needed between Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland) and large areas for coach and car parking.

One issue of concern is a flood of private cars using the bridge into the old city of Macau, whose ageing infrastructure will not be able to cope.

"Cars will be discouraged for Macau visitors," Chan said. "We plan to operate a park and shuttle bus service."

He is careful to point out that environmental considerations have been taken into account. "All our contractors must produce an environmental plan before they are allowed to start work," he said.

"As an example, there have been concerns about the effect construction will have on the Chinese White Dolphin [elsewhere known as the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin] which frequents the estuary where salt water meets the fresh.

"We have made surveys of their numbers and habits and one of the results is the decision to build a curtain shielding the dolphins from the noise of construction."

Parts of the bridge structure will be prefabricated offsite allowing deck sections to be ready as soon as the underwater foundations are laid. This has the advantage of cutting down constructions times and minimising the impact on surrounding areas.

A non-dredging method of reclaiming land for the artificial islands and a major tree and shrub-planting project are other initiatives, which Chan says are aimed at reducing the effect on the local environment.

Much of the expertise for the project comes from the construction several years earlier of the bridge across Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang which led to a number of technological innovations and breakthroughs, especially in building structures to survive typhoons and earthquakes.

The idea of a bridge linking Hong Kong and Macau is not new. It was first proposed in 1983 as a way of fostering ties between what were then the two European colonies and Mainland China. However the existing political situation militated against progress.

Now China's major economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, hails the project as one of its major planks in a grand plan to merge Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong into one of the world's foremost economic centres by 2020.

While the bridge-tunnel link receives widespread support within the Hong Kong business community, some tourism operators expressed concern that visitors will be able to land at Chek Lap Kok and take the link to China without first passing through either Special Administrative Region.

Others believed that Hong Kong's outstanding shopping attractions will still lure tourists into the main shopping areas of Central and Kowloon.

"There are times when we can hardly cope with the influx of shoppers from the mainland. I think those who complain are just a little too greedy," one said.

While I could find no one in authority who would admit this, the bridge-tunnel link may also have political overtones. Hong Kong's restless democracy movement has been upping the ante in recent times, even to the point of demanding an autonomous city-state status.

One consequence of this project will be to bind the economic fortunes of Hong Kong and Macau ever closer to the motherland.

Whatever the eventual outcome, the opening of the bridge, just three years away, is certain to have a profound impact on the tens of millions of people who inhabit the lower reaches of the Pearl River.