Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at an opening ceremony in the city of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, on Tuesday morning.
“I now declare the official opening of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge,” said Xi.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge spans the Lingdingyang channel, which connects Hong Kong with Macao and Zhuhai City in Guangdong Province, three major cities on the Pearl River Delta.
People are holding high expectations for the opening, saying it will provide more opportunities, promote tourism and improve traffic conditions between the three Chinese regions.
As one of the most complex projects in China, the major bridge project includes the construction of the 23km long bridge, 7km long tunnel and two artificial islands.
Fifty-five kilometers in total length, it’s the world’s longest sea-based bridge. It has the world’s deepest underwater tunnel 46 meters deep. It used 420 000 tons of steel equivalent to 60 Eiffel Towers.
Its construction started in December 2009 and the two parts of the main bridge were linked in June 2016.
In May 2017, the final segment of the underwater tunnel was installed and on New Year’s Eve, the lights were switched on, hailing the bridge’s completion as 2018 began.
