THE Government will not pursue details of a proposal by Zhuhai authorities to build a bridge linking the Special Economic Zone with Hongkong because the project is a local level decision. The Secretary for Transport, Mr Michael Leung Man-kin, said in response to questions from legislators that the Hongkong Government would not raise the matter through formal channels. Nor would the matter be on the agenda of meetings of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG) or border talks, he said. ''I do not think it appropriate to raise this matter at the JLG meeting,'' said Mr Leung. The Government would not say why Zhuhai announced the plan before discussion with Hongkong. He said the Government's knowledge of the plan was confined to what it had learned through press reports. ''We have not yet raised the issue because, as we understood from press reports, it was only a local level issue,'' said Mr Leung. ''It has not even gone to the provincial level for consideration or endorsement.'' He said that the Government could not stop anyone from ''making announcements to the press about their ideas''. ''Questions concerning whether, or why, a proposal was made should be addressed to those making the proposal, and not to the Hongkong Government,'' he said. Mr Leung said the Government would not speculate on the impact the plan might have on traffic and land use in general and the western New Territories in particular. ''Clearly, I cannot comment on the implications of this proposal,'' he said. ''We would, of course, be happy to consider the matter when officially notified.'' Zhuhai authorities have proposed that a six-lane bridge be built between Jinding, in Zhuhai, and Tuen Mun, in the New Territories, passing over the Chinese islands of Jiao and Neilingting. Zhuhai mayor Mr Liang Guangda said last month that discussions with the Hongkong Government would start once the scheme was approved by the Chinese Government. Chinese officials earlier said the bridge would boost development of Tuen Mun and the western part of Hongkong. The project is expected to cost more than 10 billion yuan (about HK$13.47 billion).
