Why the bridge is being built has a lot to do with the economic activity in the megalopolis called the Pearl River Delta, one of China’s fastest growing regions. The delta is home to over 56 million people, spread out across urban centres including Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan.
Yet the transport links between Hong Kong and the western reaches of the Delta have long been regarded as weak.
Since there are no roads that directly connect Zhuhai and Macau with Hong Kong, cars have no choice but to take a long detour via the Humen Bridge located further up north – a 200km journey that takes four hours.
As a result, to reduce transportation cost and time, the governments of Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong decided to build a highway over the Pearl River estuary now known as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
25 km
Guangzhou
Guangdong Province Capital
Population (2010): 12.7 million
CHINA
East River
Pearl River
Dongguan
Shizhi Ocean
Foshan
8.2 million
6.8 million
Humen bridge
Shenzhen
Special Economic Zone
10.4 million
Zhongshan
3.1 million
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
7.1 million
Area of detail in section below
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge
Zhuhai
Special Economic Zone
Macau
1.6 million
Special Administrative Region
534,626
Date of satellite imagery:
October 18, 2015
25 km
Guangzhou
Guangdong Province Capital
CHINA
Population (2010): 12.7 million
East River
Pearl River
Dongguan
Shizhi Ocean
Foshan
8.2 million
6.8 million
Humen bridge
Shenzhen
Special Economic Zone
10.4 million
Zhongshan
3.1 million
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
7.1 million
Area of detail in section below
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge
Zhuhai
Special Economic Zone
Macau
1.6 million
Special Administrative Region
Date of satellite imagery:
October 18, 2015
534,626
25 km
CHINA
Guangzhou
Population (2010): 12.7 million
East River
Pearl River
Dongguan
Foshan
Shizhi Ocean
8.2 million
6.8 million
Humen bridge
Shenzhen
10.4 million
Zhongshan
3.1 million
Hong Kong
7.1 million
Area of detail in section below
HKG airport
Bridge
Zhuhai
1.6 million
Macau
534,626
Oct 18, 2015
The bridge consists of a 42km structure that runs east from an artificial island off the eastern shore of Macau to an artificial island located near Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong.
But the bridge structure is only one facet of the project, which includes a 6.7km underwater tunnel on the seabed, built so that ships can navigate without obstructing a busy water channel of the Pearl River estuary.
When completed, it would be one of the longest bridges in the world, equivalent to more than 15 Golden Gate Bridges lined end to end.
In terms of engineering, the project is highly complex. While the architects had to ensure the bridge is strong enough to withstand typhoons and tidal waves, they had to consider the bridge’s impact on existing sea traffic and marine life in the delta.
Although the bridge was originally expected to be open by 2016, Li Chunhong, director of the Guangdong Development and Reform Commission, estimated in March this year that even 2020 would be a difficult completion date to meet because of technical difficulties associated with building the underwater tunnel.
The project has also been plagued with cost overruns.
“A multi-billion-dollar plan to link Hong Kong and Macau by a bridge spanning 38km across the Pearl River Estuary has been proposed by the founder of infrastructure and property firm Hopewell Holdings, Mr Gordon Wu.” (South China Morning Post, November 3, 1988)
In the original plan elaborated in 1983 by tycoon Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, the scheme was not supposed to include tunnels, but rather bridges between Tuen Mun, islands west of the New Territories, and Zhuhai.
At the time, Zhuhai was in its early stages of development. As one of the first special economic zones set up by China in the 1980s to attract foreign investors, Zhuhai needed a better transport link to Hong Kong.
As a result, the idea was backed by mainland authorities. Liang Guangda, former mayor of Zhuhai, announced plans to build a bridge to link Zhuhai and Tuen Mun in 1993.
By 1994, a Sino-British infrastructure committee was set up to explore implementing the idea.
But after the handover in 1997, the original design was dropped and support instead went to another proposal that would link Zhuhai and Macau to Hong Kong through the new international airport on Lantau Island, Chek Lap Kok.
In 2003, the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau finally formed a group to seriously study how a bridge could be built over the estuary. After five years of study and negotiations, in 2008, the three sides worked out the design of the bridge and how it would be funded, bringing the idea closer to reality.
| 2003 | Study commissioned by National Development and Reform Commission and Hong Kong government confirmed the need to build a land transport link between Hong Kong and the western Pearl River Delta. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Task Force set up. Read more » |
| 2007 | Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang cites the bridge as one of the city’s 10 mega-infrastructure projects in his policy address. Read more » |
| 2008 | In February, governments of Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong agree on how to share the cost of the 29.6km main bridge: 50.2% for Hong Kong; 35.1% for Guangdong and 14.7% for Macau. They also agree that each government would be responsible for building and running its own boundary-crossing facilities and associated link roads. Read more » |
| In August, the three governments reach a new cost-sharing model: Guangdong and Beijing to shoulder RMB 7 billion, Hong Kong RMB 6.75 billion and Macau RMB 1.98 billion. This changes the contribution ratio to: Hong Kong (42.9%), Guangdong and the central government (44.5%) and Macau (12.6%). Read more » | |
| 2009 | Bank of China selected to provide a loan to build the main bridge. Environmental Impact Assessment Report submitted by the Highways Department approved and Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department issued an environmental permit for bridge projects within Hong Kong. Meanwhile, works for the main bridge on Mainland waters start. Read more » |
| 2010 | A Tung Chung resident sought a judicial review against the Hong Kong government regarding the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the granting of environmental permits to build the boundary-crossing facilities and the Hong Kong Link Road, on grounds that the government ignored pollution issues and used faulty methodology. Read more » |
| 2011 | In April, Court of First Instance of Hong Kong quashed the environmental permits so construction could not start. But, the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong allowed the government's appeal in September. Environmental permits therefore remained valid and works resumed. Works for the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (the artificial island) start. Read more » |
| 2012 | Works for the Hong Kong Link Road start. Read more » |
| 2013 | Works for Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link start. Read more » |
| 2014 | Hong Kong government said an extra HK$5 billion is needed for building its border-crossing facilities due to construction workers’ rising wages and costs of material and machinery. Read more » |
| 2015 | In January, Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said: "It seems to me Hong Kong's boundary-crossing facilities and connecting works cannot be finished in 2016.” Read more » |
| In March, a Guangdong official said even 2020 would be a difficult target to meet as the cost of the bridge was expected to exceed HK$132.9 billion. Read more » | |
| In September, Highways Department said the artificial island had moved up to seven meters due to a non-dredging seawall construction method being used in Hong Kong for the first time. Read more » |
When completed, the HZMB will create a 42km-long dual three-lane highway link between Macau and Zhuhai on the western side of the estuary and Lantau Island in Hong Kong on the eastern side.
To let marine traffic pass, three large cable-stayed bridges have been planned in the bridge structure. From west to east, they are the Jiuzhou Channel bridge on the Macau side, Jianghai Channel bridge and Qingzhou Channel bridge.
The concept of using underwater tunnel to form part of a bridge to keep shipping lanes open is not novel to this project. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel in Virginia in the United States and the Øresund Bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden also used similar techniques.
3km
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link
Undersea tunnel
Boundary Crossing Facilities
to city
Hong Kong
Mainland China
Viaduct
Hong Kong International Airport
At grade road
Zhuhai/Macau
Tunnel
HZMB Main Bridge
Tung Chung
Viaduct
Hong Kong Link Road
Eastern entrance to tunnel section
Date of satellite imagery:
August 25, 2015
3km
Tuen Mun
Undersea tunnel
Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link
Boundary Crossing Facilities
to city
Hong Kong
Viaduct
Mainland China
Hong Kong International Airport
Zhuhai/Macau
Tunnel
HZMB Main Bridge
Tung Chung
Hong Kong Link Road
Viaduct
Eastern entrance to tunnel section
Date of satellite imagery:
August 25, 2015
3km
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link
Undersea tunnel
Mainland China
Hong Kong
Boundary Crossing Facilities
Zhuhai/Macau
to city
Viaduct
Hong Kong International Airport
Tunnel
HZMB Main Bridge
Tung Chung
Viaduct
Hong Kong Link Road
Under the arrangement agreed by the governments of Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong, Hong Kong is responsible only for sharing the cost of the main bridge, which is situated on waters of mainland China.
Responsibility to construct the main bridge on the Pearl River estuary falls on mainland China.
However, Hong Kong is responsible for building and paying for three “related projects” within its own boundary, some of which had to be completed for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to fully function as envisioned.
The first project is the Hong Kong Link Road, which is a 12 km highway that links the main bridge to the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities. It is made up of a 9.4 km long viaduct, a 1 km long tunnel and 1.6 km road.
The second project is a 150 hectares artificial island known as the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities, which will be located north-east of Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok. The island primarily serves as a facility for passenger and cargo clearance.
The third project is the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link, which is a 9km highway that links Tuen Mun in the New Territories to the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and Lantau Island. It also serves as a vital alternative route to access the Hong Kong International Airport. The northern portion of the link is a subsea tunnel.
As the project is not completed, there is no final figure on the cost of the whole project yet.
The main bridge was estimated in 2008 to cost a total of 37.45 billion yuan (about HK$45.55 billion).
Of the total cost, 42 per cent, or 15.73 billion yuan, would be shared among Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong. The three governments agreed on the following contribution arrangement:
| Hong Kong | Mainland | Macau |
|---|---|---|
| 42.9% of public funding | 44.5% | 12.6% |
| RMB6.75billion | 7 | 1.98 |
The remaining 58 per cent will be financed by loans provided by the Bank of China.
| Loans | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 58% of total cost (RMB22billion) |
In December 2014, the Hong Kong government told Legislative Council that it needed HK$5.46 billion more to build structures on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities. The request is not yet approved.
If approved, the extra funding would bring the total cost to over HK$117 billion. GDP of Hong Kong in 2014 was HK$2.14 trillion.
| Project | Approved Estimate (HK$ billion) | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution to the Main Bridge | 9.3 | Link |
| The Hong Kong Link Road | 25.0 | Link |
| The Boundary Crossing Facilities | 30.4 | Link |
| Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link | 46.7 | Link |
| Section | Date of works commencement | Progress | Anticipated Commission Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Bridge | Dec 2009 | Channel bridges are being built. For the tunnel section, 22 out of 33 tunnel segments were placed on the seabed. (Nov 2015) | Under review |
| Hong Kong Link Road | May 2012 | Section of a hill tunnel was broken through. Construction works of bridge piers in progress. (May 2015) | Under review |
| Boundary Crossing Facilities | Nov 2011 | Artificial island now clearly visible. Piling/pre-drilling works for the passenger clearance building in progress. (May 2015) | Under review |
| Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link | June 2013 | Foundations of viaducts being laid (May 2015); 500 metres of the subsea tunnel excavated (Oct 2015) | Northern section: 2018; Southern section: Under review |