Asia/South Asia
5 years ago

World's longest sea bridge opens Wednesday

Connects Hong Kong and Macau to mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai

The bridge will slash the travel time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai from three hours to just 30 minutes — Xinhua photo
The bridge will slash the travel time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai from three hours to just 30 minutes — Xinhua photo

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The world's longest sea bridge, linking the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai across the South China Sea, is set to open to traffic on Wednesday (October 24), the authorities said.

The 55-kilometre-long bridge, situated in the Lingdingyang waters of the Pearl River Estuary, will be the world's longest sea bridge, according to a Xinhua report run by the PTI.

The construction of the multibillion-dollar bridge had begun in December 2009.

The bridge will slash the travel time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai from three hours to just 30 minutes, further integrating the cities in the Pearl River Delta.

Earlier, lawmakers in Hong Kong warned that the bridge, which provides a direct link to Hong Kong International Airport, could bring extra traffic to Lantau Island, and cause congestion, South China Morning Post said in a report.

The Transport Department has already capped the number of permits for cross-border private cars at 5,000, it said.

A government-commissioned study from 2016 estimated that 29,100 vehicles would use the bridge daily, by 2030, which was 12 per cent down from a report written in 2008.

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