China starts construction of landmark bridge to Hong Kong - Summary

Beijing - China on Tuesday officially started construction of what could become the world's longest sea bridge, linking the southern province of Guangdong with Macau and Hong Kong. Vice Premier Li Keqiang launched the project at a ceremony in Guangdong's Zhuhai city at the northern end of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge, which is scheduled to stretch 35 kilometers across the Pearl River Estuary by completion in 2016.

"It is a move for Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta region to cope with the global economic downturn, boost investment and inspire people," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying.

"It is of great significance to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau and enhance overall competitiveness in the region," he said.

The Y-shaped bridge is to have a total length of nearly 50 kilometers, including 35 kilometers over the sea, the agency quoted Zhu Yongling, an official in charge of construction, as saying.

The bridge is to carry a six-lane road with a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour and has a designed service life of 120 years, Zhu said.

The estimated cost of construction is 73 billion yuan (10.7 billion dollars), which is to be shared between the three regions.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang; Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho; and Ho's appointed successor, Chen Sai On, all attended the ceremony.

China rules the former British and Portuguese colonies of Hong Kong and Macau as special administrative regions.

The bridge is to be built to withstand winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, earthquakes of up to magnitude 8 and collisions with ships weighing up to 300,000 tons, Zhu said.

The construction is to "take into consideration the protection of ocean ecology and fishery resources, such as white dolphins," he was quoted as saying.

More than 20 kilometers of the bridge is to be in the form of a viaduct rising above the sea while about 7 kilometers is to be a tunnel cut through an area known as a feeding ground of the dolphin, earlier reports said.

Protecting the dolphin has been one of the major areas of concern among environmentalists.

The Hong Kong government argued the bridge would bring more tourism and business to Hong Kong, boost its airport's status as a transport hub for Asia, and connect the city with the western Pearl River Delta region and mainland China's rail network.