The 2.74-kilometer-long Gongbei tunnel in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in South China's Guangdong Province, a key part of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, has been completed, marking a great breakthrough in the core technologies of the link, according to a Wednesday statement from the Ministry of Transport.
Construction of the bridge started in December 2009, with an investment of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion). The bridge is expected to open to traffic by the end of 2017, with a service life of 120 years.
The 55-kilometer-long bridge is expected to reduce driving time between Hong Kong and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area to one or two hours, bringing greater job opportunities to Hong Kong people, Singapore news outlet .sg reported Monday.
The tunnel, designed as a two-story facility with six lanes, incorporates three tunnels of different structures: open excavation on artificial islands and land as well as underground excavation in ports, said a Tuesday statement on the website of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority.
The most difficult segment of the tunnel is the 255-meter underground excavation, mainly due to soft ground and underground water, according to the statement. Hence, the construction of the project combines the curve pipe-roofing method and freezing method to prevent underground water from flowing into the tunnel during the excavation.
The overall cost of this section is nearly 400 million yuan, 40 times higher than that of conventional tunnels, Hong Kong news portal takungpao.com reported Tuesday. In addition, the 21-meter-high and 19-meter-wide cross section set a record for China's high-speed tunnels, it said.
China Railway 18 Bureau Group Co is responsible for the construction of the tunnel.
Premier Li Keqiang stressed that the central government should draw up the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area development plan this year, during a meeting with Hong Kong's fifth chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The current HKSAR Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying, said Tuesday that he will lead a delegation to visit several cities in the Great Bay Area next week, domestic news portal people.com.cn reported.
It said that Hong Kong will exchange views with the National Development and Reform Commission in Beijing about the development plan for the Great Bay Area by the end of June this year.
