HK will seek Beijing's approval for a Y-shaped bridge to Zhuhai and Macau [EDIT: Hi que, we have some crazy ideas of local origin:0)
Friday, November 29, 2002
scmp.com
STAFF REPORTER
The building of a 29km bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau is set to be recommended to Beijing by the Hong Kong government.
The Y-shaped bridge would run from north of Tai O on Lantau Island to Macau and Zhuhai under proposals being finalised by the government feasibility study team. Traffic using it to reach Hong Kong would have easy access to Chek Lap Kok airport and the rest of the SAR.
The administration is planning to build a logistics centre next to the bridge's Hong Kong landing point to allow goods arriving from the mainland to be processed there. It is also considering whether container terminals should be built on Lantau or in Tuen Mun, and if so, whether existing ones should be relocated there.
A source close to the feasibility study team said the bridge would improve Hong Kong's position as a logistics hub in Asia. It would also enhance Hong Kong's links with counties in the western part of Guangdong, such as Zhongshan and Jiangmen, and open the possibility of a 1,000km drive from the SAR to Vietnam.
The source said an alternative proposal that there should be an additional link to Shekou in Shenzhen would prove to be too long, too expensive and unnecessary, because the Western Corridor linking Shekou and Yuen Long would be ready in 2005.
The additional link has been proposed by the 2022 Foundation, which is backed by large companies including Sun Hung Kai Properties, Kerry Group, Li & Fung (1937) and CLP Holdings, and would cost about $30 billion. The government proposal, to be revealed in the next few weeks, is similar to the one proposed by Hopewell Holdings chairman Gordon Wu Ying-sheung.
Sir Gordon has estimated that the project would cost about $15 billion and take three years to complete, with at least 10,000 vehicles a day using the bridge initially.
The source said the administration's proposal would not significantly affect finances, since only one-eighth of it would lie in Hong Kong waters, meaning the SAR would not have to pay the bulk of the construction bill. Labour costs would be kept down by using cheaper mainland workers on sections of the bridge lying outside Hong Kong.
The source said the government had begun discussions with the State Development Planning Commission over the project, and the Beijing authorities would have to act as co-ordinator between the Guangdong, Zhuhai and Macau governments.
Supporters of the project were given a morale boost when Premier Zhu Rongji offered his backing during his visit to Hong Kong last week. The Environment, Transport and Works Bureau has since speeded up the feasibility study.
Sir Gordon said this week the result of the feasibility study was due soon. "Both the government and I are working on this, and results are expected to be announced soon," he said. "Discussions with the government will be the next step."
He said funding the bridge's construction should not be a big concern for the government because 90 per cent of the structure would be in Guangdong waters."
"I am prepared to pay for the bridge's construction if nobody is doing it. The government has not asked me about that, but who's paying should be the next thing to be considered."
He said yesterday that he expected work to start by the end of next year at the earliest and be finished in 2006.
Sir Gordon said he had had talks with Airport Authority chairman Victor Fung Kwok-king about the chances of them working on the project together. |
