The Longest Sea Crossing in the World: Hong Kong-Zhuhai Bridge Opening

Chinese President Xi Jinping officially opened the longest bridge in the world crossing the sea, nine years after the start of construction work.

Including access roads, the bridge covers 55 km and connects Hong Kong with Macau and mainland China. Zhuhai city.

The bridge cost about $ 20 billion and has suffered several delays.

Construction was hampered by security concerns – at least 18 workers died on the project, officials say. [19659007] Xi attended opening ceremony of bridge in Zhuhai with leaders of Hong Kong and Macao Tuesday

The bridge will be open to traffic next Wednesday

Is this bridge so special?

The crossing connects three major coastal cities of southern China – Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai.

The bridge, designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, was built with 400,000 tons of steel, enough to build 60 Eiffel towers. 19659007] About 30 km of its total length crosses the sea from the delta of the Pearl River. To allow the pbadage of the ships, a section of 6.7 km in the center sinks in an underwater tunnel connecting two artificial islands.

The remaining sections are connecting roads, viaducts and ground tunnels connecting Zhuhai and Hong Kong to the main bridge.

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  This is part of China's plan to create an enlarged region, including Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities of southern China.

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  The area currently has 68 million inhabitants

  Previously, the trip between Zhuhai and Hong Kong took up to four hours – the new bridge reduces this number to 30 minutes.

  Can any one cross the bridge by car? Those who want to cross the bridge must obtain special permits, allocated by a quota system. And all vehicles will pay a toll.

  The bridge is not serviced by public transport, so private shuttles will also travel.

  The authorities initially estimated that 9,200 vehicles would cross the bridge each day. They then lowered their estimates after the construction of new transportation networks in the region.

  What do people say about it?

  The project was the subject of much criticism

  The bridge was dubbed the "bridge of death" by some local media. At least nine workers from Hong Kong have died and officials told BBC News Chinese that nine more had died on the continent.

  Hundreds of workers were also injured during construction.

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  The impact on the environment has also raised concerns.

  Environmental groups say the project could have caused severe damage to marine life in the area, including the Chinese white dolphin, an extremely rare species.

  The number of dolphins seen in Hong Kong waters has increased from 148 to 47 in the last 10 years, and they are now absent from waters near the bridge, according to the World Wildlife Fund branch of the World Wildlife Fund. in Hong Kong (WWF)

  "The project caused irreversible damage to the sea," said Samantha Lee, deputy director of ocean conservation at WWF. "I'm afraid the number will never increase again."

  Will this offset his costs?

  The bridge, surrounding connecting roads and artificial islands cost $ 20 billion for construction – the main deck costs only $ 6.92 billion.

  Chinese authorities say the economy will generate up to 10 trillion yuan ($ 1.44 billion), but a lawmaker in Hong Kong has questioned this figure.

  "I'm not sure either how the bridge can survive so few cars use it," Tanya Chan told BBC News Chinese.

  "I am pretty sure we will never win this [construction cost]."

  According to an estimate by BBC Chinese, the bridge would yield only $ 86 million in tolls per year.

  In fact, the maintenance costs of the bridge would already remove a third of these revenues.

  Critics have called the bridge a "big white elephant" that does not guarantee any economic return. Others have said that its main purpose is symbolic: to ensure that Hong Kong is physically connected to the continent.

  Additional report by Lam Cho Wai of the BBC