Zhuhai’s proposal for new bridge linking it with Shenzhen means Hong Kong should rethink its relationship with mainland neighbours, lawmaker says
- Mayor of mainland city announces plan to build 46.5km crossing that would include a high-speed rail link
- Shenzhen economist says lack of traffic on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge shows project is a failure
A recently unveiled plan by Zhuhai’s top officials to build a bridge to connect the city with Shenzhen has raised concerns of reignited rivalry with Hong Kong and worries that such a link could hurt usage of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
The proposal calls for a crossing that will slash travelling time between the two cities to just 30 minutes – down from two hours now – and it would have a high-speed railway line as well.
Zhuhai mayor Yao Yisheng first revealed to the media the city’s ambitions at the end of the annual session of Guangdong’s legislature last month. He said Zhuhai hoped to start planning the bridge as soon as possible in comments that went largely unnoticed then, just before the Lunar New Year holiday period began.
Ideally, travel between the two cities would be via high-speed trains able to go at least 200km/h, said Yao, and Guo Yonghang, the city’s Communist Party chief.
Yao said connecting Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Zhongshan by high-speed rail would be a boost to the coastal economic zone around the Pearl River estuary.
Zhuhai is 155km from Shenzhen. Hongkongers can travel to Shenzhen in less than 20 minutes via the high-speed rail link that opened in September, and can get to Zhuhai in 1½ hours via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge which opened in October.