Delta bridge link to get priority, says Guangdong planning chief

Guangdong's top planning official has announced that the provincial government will do its utmost to hasten the launch of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

The project, linking Hong Kong to the western part of the Pearl River Delta, has long been delayed.

Li Miaojuan , director general of Guangdong's Development and Reform Commission, said the bridge was a key infrastructure project for this year.

Ms Li said she would meet the secretary for transport and housing, Eva Cheng Yu-wah, soon to discuss details for speeding up the project.

'We will try our best to bring forward the starting date for bridge construction as the project is favourable for Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong,' she said.

Ms Li said several key research projects for the bridge would be conducted in June. The impact of the bridge on coastal ecosystems would be one issue examined.

The provincial government would also keep researching issues such as funding and location of the bridge control point.

Ms Li said the matter of deciding where investment would come from was still being discussed by the three governments involved.

Guangdong wanted private companies to invest in the project rather than government funding, she said. 'But we are still waiting to reach an agreement.'

The idea of a link between Hong Kong and the delta was floated two decades ago but the plan has been dogged by controversy surrounding the exact location of the bridge, its environmental impact, and which authority or authorities would have jurisdiction over it.

In 2003 a consensus was reached between Hong Kong and Guangdong to build a Y-shaped bridge linking the three points after the central government gave its support.