China's President Xi Jinping today officially launched the world's longest sea bridge that cost £14 billion to build and connects...
China's President Xi Jinping today officially launched the world's longest sea bridge that cost £14 billion to build and connects Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.
The 55-kilometre (34-mile) crossing, which includes a snaking road bridge and underwater tunnel, will open to traffic tomorrow at 9am local time, linking Hong Kong with the southern mainland city of Zhuhai and the gambling enclave of Macau, across the waters of the Pearl River Estuary.
The submerged tunnel, which is under the Lingding Ocean near Hong Kong, is connected by two artificial islands each occupying 10,000 square metres (one million square feet). At 6.75 kilometres (4.2 miles) long and 40 metres (131 feet) deep, the tunnel creates a gap in the bridge that will allow cargo ships to pass through the busy delta.
Xi presided over an inauguration ceremony attended by Hong Kong's and Macau's city leaders at a new port terminal in Zhuhai.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge includes a road bridge and underwater tunnel and will open to traffic tomorrow
Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over the opening ceremony for the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge in Zhuha today
A general view of the East Artificial Island at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Vehicles will have to drive through the two man-made islands to get to the 6.7-kilometre (4-mile) -underwater tunnel and back out again at the other side
A view of the main entrance of the bridge section after the opening ceremony of the new bridge
The mega bridge links Hong Kong's Lantau island to Zhuhai and the gambling enclave of Macau
To construct the submerged tunnel, engineers had to drive more than 100 huge steel cylinders into the sandy bottom to form the foundations for the man-made islands, according to a previous report by Wired citing engineers of the project
Supporters of the project promote it as an engineering marvel that will also boost business and cut travel time
An interior view of the Hong Kong Port Passenger Clearance Building of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
The total price tag has not been officially confirmed yet but some estimates run to over 100 billion yuan (£11 billion)
Cable cars travelling in front of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge off Lantau island in Hong Kong
A shuttle bus attendant displays bus tickets at the Hong Kong Port Passenger Clearance Building of the crossing
A total of 420,000 tons of steel was used in the project, equivalent to 60 times the steel used to build the Eiffel Tower
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