$58m approved for super-bridge study

The legislature yesterday agreed in principle to fund $58 million to finance the design and feasibility study for the super-bridge between Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.

The money will be spent on surveying and preliminary design work for the bridge, and connecting roads in Hong Kong. It will be reimbursed by the private developer awarded the contract.

At the public works sub-committee yesterday, legislators raised concerns over a possible increase in traffic and also the environmental impact during the construction and operation stage.

'I am most worried that when the bridge is open, the North Lantau Highway will become saturated unless the connecting roads are ready by that time ... it might lead to congestion throughout the territory,' legislator Lau Kong-wah said.

Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung said the government was still looking at other possibilities to improve the connecting roads.

She added that the bridge's advance preparatory work committee would share information on the assessment of the project's environmental impact.