Lantau bridge project is not best way to improve transport links
The major use of the Lantau to Zhuhai-Macau crossing is to transport people and perhaps air cargo, but definitely not export sea cargo, which is exactly what Li Ka-shing has said.
What is also clear is that Shenzhen will soon need a second crossing somewhere between Humen and Shekou.
Therefore the Lantau bridge project with a payback in excess of 36 years is a horribly wasteful extravagance.
The most suitable location for a bridge is from Shekou near the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Bay border crossing bridge, and then across to Zhuhai and Zhongshan , connecting to the existing national expressway system on the west side.
We should also learn from Severe Tropical Storm Kammuri, when many visitors were stranded all day at Shun Tak Centre due to a cancelled ferry service. The best solution for passengers is an all-weather rail tunnel from Tung Chung to Macau and Zhuhai. This would fulfil the main purpose of the Lantau crossing at a fraction of the cost.
On the Zhuhai side construction of the Guangzhou-Zhongshan-Jiangmen high-speed rail line is well advanced.
It would be really an ideal situation if the entire MTR network could connect to its Gongbei rail terminus via a Lantau-Zhuhai rail tunnel.
For added benefit the line could also connect to Hong Kong airport for both air cargo and travellers.
The sea cargo infrastructure of small feeder ships between the main trans-ocean ports and river ports such as Jiangmen and Zhongshan, is already well established and offers a lower cost than even trucking containers to Shenzhen ports from these areas.
There is no financial or other reason to believe that the Lantau crossing will displace this infrastructure.
Yes, Hong Kong should strengthen its connections with the west side of the Pearl River, but with a transport infrastructure that is best suited for a high-speed and non-polluting future. Efficiently transporting people should be the foremost goal of this government.
Ralph Bishop, Pok Fu Lam
