Over-budget and delayed - but C.Y. Leung says Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge will boost business in cities

The 35km bridge under construction between Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, intended to improve transport links between the three cities, could also facilitate cooperation in other areas, the leaders of Hong Kong and Zhuhai said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying went to Zhuhai to inspect work on the massive and much-criticised infrastructure project.

“The Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge has taken shape,” said Li Jia, secretary of the Communist Party's Zhuhai Municipal Committee, adding that he was confident the project could be completed next year.

Leung met with him at the Zhuhai Holiday Resort Hotel at noon.

“In the near future, Zhuhai will be just a bridge away from Hong Kong,” Leung said. He added that the commissioning of the crossing would bring myriad business opportunities for the two cities.

Leung, accompanied by Hong Kong transport chief Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, inspected work on the bridge and visited the Hengqin pilot free-trade zone during the day-long trip.

The visit came three days after Xinhua published an interview with Leung which quoted him as saying Hong Kong should intensify its role as the “super connector” linking the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world. Leung urged the city to grab opportunities from Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” trade initiative to boost the economy.