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Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge

The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, also called the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, is a group of bridges and tunnels in the Pearl River Delta. It is 55 kilometres (34 mi) long. It is made up of three bridges, one tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is the longest sea crossing on Earth.[6] The bridges cross the Lingdingyang and Jiuzhouyang sea channels. They also connect Hong Kong, Zhuhai, and Macau.

Characteristics
DesignBridge–tunnel system
No. of lanes6
History
Construction start15 December 2009
Construction end6 February 2018[1]
Location
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Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge
HZMB route.svg
Map of the bridge highway and the undersea tunnel (dotted) route of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, between Hong Kong and Macau.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 港珠澳大橋
Simplified Chinese 港珠澳大桥
Cantonese Jyutping Gong2zyu1ou3 Daai6kiu4
Hanyu Pinyin Gǎngzhū'ào Dàqiáo
Portuguese name
Portuguese Ponte Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau

The bridge is supposed to last for 120 years.[7] The cost of the bridge was about 126.9 billion yuan ($18.77 billion USD).[3] At first, the cost of the bridge was supposed to be 51.1 billion yuan ($7.56 billion USD). The governments of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as some banks, helped pay for the bridge.[8] The bridge was supposed to open in late 2016,[9][10] but the bridge only finished being built on 6 February 2018.[1] The bridge officially opened on 24 October 2018.[6]

Planning

Gordon Wu, who was the founder of Hopewell Holdings thought of a bridge and tunnel that would connect China, Hong Kong, and Macau. This was in 1983.[11] He said that he got the idea from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel. After that, in 1988, he showed the ideas to the government in Guangzhou and Beijing. In his idea, the bridge would start more north than the design that was actually built. He wanted the bridge to begin at Black Point near Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. It would then cross the Pearl River passing through Neilingding Island and Qi'ao Island. In his idea, the bridge would end at Tangjia and there would be a road from Zhuhai to Macau.[12] The talks between the government and Wu stopped after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. This is because it made foreign investors concerned.[13]

The government of Zhuhai liked this idea and they promoted it. Their name for the bridge was the Lingdingyang Bridge. In the 1990s, Zhuhai built a bridge that connected mainland China and Qi'ao Island. This bridge was supposed to be the first part of the system even though the Chinese and Hong Kong governments did not approve the plan yet.[14] The Chinese government supported the bridge in 1997.[15] The Hong Kong government did not say whether they supported it or not. This is because they were studying traffic between Hong Kong and China and were concerned about the effect this would have on the environment.[16]

To begin the project and making sure things were going to go smoothly, the Advance Work Coordination Group of HZMB was created in 2003. People that worked for the governments of Zhuhai, Macau, and Hong Kong worked on planning the bridge, how the border patrol would work, and how the bridge would be paid for.[17]

In 2009, the governments of China, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau agreed to pay for 22% of the bridge. The rest of the money, 78%, was paid for by a lot of banks, like the Bank of China.[18]

Construction

 
Hong Kong section under construction in 2015 near Lantau Island

The construction of the bridge began on 15 December 2009 in China.[19] Li Keqiang held a starting ceremony. Construction began in Hong Kong in 2011. The construction started later because people challenged the building of the bridge.[20]

The last bridge tower and part of the tunnel was set up on 12 July 2016.[21] The entire tunnel and bridge was finished in the middle of 2017.[10] The entire project was finished in February 2018.[1]

Parts of the bridge

The entire bridge has three sections. One of them was the Main Bridge, which is 29.6 kilometres (18.4 mi) and in the middle of the Pearl River. Another was the Hong Kong Link Road, which was 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) and close to Hong Kong. The third section was the Zhuhai Link Road, which was 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) and close to Zhuhai.[22]

Main Bridge

The Main Bridge is the biggest part of the HZMB project. It was built by the managing people from mainland China.[23]

Problems

Number of dolphins

Many environmentalists said that the bridge will hurt the Chinese white dolphins that live in the Pearl River Delta. They said the construction of the bridge will hurt the dolphins' habitat. These dolphins are endangered animals. In the ten years before the bridge opened, the number of these dolphins dropped over 80%.[24][25][26]

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge Media

  • Simple map of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

  • Satellite imagery of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge 2022

  • Shuttle buses between Hong Kong and Zhuhai/Macau

  • Shuttle bus from Macau arriving at Hong Kong

  • The OneBus Hong Kong Macau services

  • The eastern artificial island in May 2017

  • The Artificial Island in May 2018

  • The completed Hong Kong section of the bridge in November 2018

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "港珠澳大桥主体工程完成交工验收 具备通车试运营条件". Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China (in 中文). 6 February 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  2. ↑ Cheng, Ian (23 October 2018). "The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge: 6 things to know about the engineering marvel". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fang, Ning; Zhou, Qiang; Wang, Pan (23 October 2018). "Xinhua Headlines: World's longest cross-sea bridge opens, integrating China's Greater Bay Area". Xinhua Net. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  4. ↑ Yau, Cannix; Leung, Kanis; Cheung, Tony (24 October 2018). "Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge passes first real test as it opens to Pearl River Delta traffic". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Zhang, Dayu (producer) (23 October 2018). Chinese President Xi Jinping declares Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge open (in English and 中文). South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "World's longest sea crossing: Hong Kong-Zhuhai bridge opens". BBC News. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  7. ↑ Cheng, Kris (23 October 2018). "Explainer: Hong Kong's troubled mega-bridge – counting the human, environmental and financial cost". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Lazarus, Sarah (16 May 2018). "The $20 billion 'umbilical cord': China unveils the world's longest sea-crossing bridge". CNN. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Nakamura, Nu (18 May 2017). "Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge construction set to finish this year". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Main structure of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is completed". China Daily. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Tsang, Denise (23 October 2018). "Property tycoon Gordon Wu's 35-year dream of massive bridge connecting Hong Kong with Pearl River Delta cities finally realised". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  12. ↑ Stoner, Tad (3 November 1988). "$6b bridge to China plan". South China Morning Post: 1. 
  13. ↑ Hunt, Christopher (29 December 1989). "Entrepreneur Becomes a Weather Vane For Resuming Business in China Now". The Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition: 1. 
  14. ↑ Cheung, Agnes (29 March 1995). "First Lingdingyang link nearly ready". South China Morning Post: 11. 
  15. ↑ Szeto, Wanda; Ng, Kang-chung (31 December 1997). "Beijing approves Zhuhai-HK bridge". South China Morning Post: 1. 
  16. ↑ "A bridge too far". South China Morning Post: 12. 2 January 1998. 
  17. ↑ "Introduction to Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge". Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  18. ↑ Cheng, Jonathan (15 December 2009). "China Builds Bridge to Link Southern Cities". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  19. ↑ "The ground breaking ceremony for the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge (Zhuhai waters section) took place on 15 December 2009". Arup. 9 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  20. ↑ "Pearl River Delta Bridge work begins". Macau Daily Times. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  21. ↑ Lin, Yanchen (19 July 2017). "Straighted-element of HZMB immersed tunnel had been finished". CCCC HZMB. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  22. ↑ "China border control at sea crossing". The Standard. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "HZMB Main Bridge". Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  24. ↑ Chan, Lauren (16 July 2016). "Experts blame Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge for falling dolphin numbers". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  25. ↑ Charity, Nick (24 October 2018). "Rare white dolphins spotted as world's longest sea bridge unveiled in China". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  26. ↑ Solum, Aleksander; Master, Farah (16 July 2018). "Bridge to China brings threat for Hong Kong's native pink dolphin". Reuters. Retrieved 13 June 2019.

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