Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2172883/hong-kongs-mega-bridge-and-high-speed-rail-should
Opinion/ Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s mega bridge and high-speed rail should do more than bring in visitors the city cannot cope with

  • Paul Yip says Hong Kong needs strategic planning to benefit from its two new infrastructure projects – and a tourist free-for-all will not do the trick
A tour group from the mainland visits Tung Chung on November 5. An influx of tourists into the town after the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge has drawn protests from local residents. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

The opening of the mega bridge connecting Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macau and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link to many major cities in China marks the turning of a new page for Hong Kong. When accessibility improves, it stimulates growth and offers more opportunities.

The mega bridge spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels and connects Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, three major cities in the Pearl River Delta. The delta itself is now a megalopolis which has more than 108 million residents according to the 2015 census and which the World Bank has declared the largest urban area in the world in both size and population.