At 55 kilometers, it's the world's longest sea-crossing bridge and connects the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau with mainland China. But the project was hit by delays, cost overruns and safety concerns.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Kin Cheung
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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday opened the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau, the world's longest sea-crossing bridge that links the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau with the city of Zhuhai on the Chinese mainland.
Construction began in 2009 but the project has been dogged by corruption prosecutions and the deaths of workers. Delays and cost overruns caused the final price tag of the 55-kilometer (34-mile) bridge to total around $20 billion (€17.5 billion).
Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremonyImage: REUTERS
The bridge passes through the Pearl River Delta, an important manufacturing region, and is set to cut the time taken to cross the area from several hours to 30 minutes. Authorities will restrict access to the bridge to drivers who have applied for special permits.
China hopes the bridge will bolster economic growth in the region and promote integration between the mainland and the two semi-autonomous cities. Critics have denounced the project's impact on local wildlife.
Hong Kong and mainland China are already linked by a high-speed railway that opened in September.
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau: China opens world's longest sea bridge
It took China about €15 billion and nine years to build the world's longest sea bridge, which connects two semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau. But this architectural masterpiece is not without controversies.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/MAXPPP
Above and under water
On October 23, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the 55-kilometer (34-mile)-long sea bridge that connects Hong Kong and Macau to the sprawling Pearl River delta economic zone via the Chinese mainland city of Zhuhai. The remarkable structure consists of a meandering bridge and a 6.7-kilometer underwater tunnel between two artificial islands.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Previous record holder
Previously, the 42-kilometer-long Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, or the Qingdao Bay Bridge, was the longest sea bridge. It is located in Shandong Peninsula and connects the cities of Qingdao and Huangdao.
Image: dapd
Parking islands
The Hong Kong-Macau sea bridge cost the Chinese government 120 billion yuan, equivalent to about €15 billion ($17.2 billion), and its construction took almost a decade. From this artificially created island in Hong Kong, the structure plunges under water. In addition, car and truck drivers can stop here. At least 60,000 cars and 250,000 people are estimated to use this connection daily.
Image: picture alliance/Zumapress
Expected economic boom
The Chinese government hopes that connecting Hong Kong and Macau to the Pearl River delta area would boost economic activity in the region. Until now residents of Zhuhai, Macau and Hong Kong have used ferries to commute between the three cities.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A. Wallace
Time is money
At a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, the journey time between Hong Kong and Macau should be reduced from three hours by ferry to less than 30 minutes by car. But this is not a bridge anyone can just drive on — for now only the rich or politically well connected residents of Hong Kong and Macau will be able to take their private cars across the bridge.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A. Wallace
Several delays
The bridge should have been officially inaugurated by the end of 2016, but it took longer than expected to open it. The bridge will be open to regular traffic from October 24, 2018. The structure will last up to at least 120 years and can also withstand typhoon winds of up to 340 kilometers per hour.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A. Wallace
A steel and concrete giant
About 400,000 tons of steel was used in the construction of this gigantic bridge. That is 4.5 times more steel than what was used in building the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Chinese authorities say the bridge can not only withstand a magnitude-8 earthquake but also survive collisions with cargo ships.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A. Wallace
Two driving systems
Border controls have been built on crossings in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. One of the problems that drivers face along the bridge deals with right- and left-hand driving systems. The drivers must also have two valid licenses to cross the bridge.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Imaginechina
A controversial 'white elephant'
The construction of the bridge was delayed due to rising costs, fatal accidents of laborers and corruption allegations. Hong Kong residents fear Beijing will attempt to undermine their partial autonomy through this bridge. Environmentalists warn it would have a devastating impact on endangered pink dolphin species in the Pearl River estuary. Critics also say that the bridge is a waste of money.
Image: Reuters/Aly Song
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The United Kingdom handed over control of Hong Kong to China in 1997 under an agreement that the city would retain partial independence from Beijing until 2047. Portugal transferred sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999.
