The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is the WORLD’s LARGEST/LONGEST SEA BRIDGE-TUNNEL SYSTEM, which consists of a series of 3 CABLE-STAYED BRIDGES and 1 UNDERSEA TUNNEL as well as 4 ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS (one of them appears in the video) totalling 55 KM that took 9 years to build and 20 billion + USD to complete. It is BOTH the LONGEST SEA CROSSING & the LONGEST OPEN/SEA FIXED LINK the longest open-sea fixed link on earth
THE ØRESUND BRIDGE & TUNNEL > LAND LINK BETWEEN SWEDEN & DENMARK
WHAT IS THE HONGKONG- ZHUHAI-MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB) ?
IS IT JUST A BRIDGE ?
NO. HZMB IS NOT JUST A BRIDGE
HZMB is THE WORLD´s LARGEST & LONGEST SEA BRIDGE-TUNNEL SYSTEM
THE OTHER SUCH A SYSTEM BEING THE ORESUND SEA BRIDGE TUNNEL SYSTEM BETWEEN SWEDEN & DENMARK
- The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is the WORLD’s LARGEST/LONGEST SEA BRIDGE-TUNNEL SYSTEM
- HZMB is BOTH the LONGEST SEA CROSSING & the LONGEST OPEN/SEA FIXED LINK the longest open-sea fixed link on earth
- HZMB consists of a series of 3 CABLE-STAYED BRIDGES and 1 UNDERSEA TUNNEL as well as 4 ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS (one of them appears in the video) totalling 55 KM
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF HZMB ?
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is the WORLD’s LARGEST/LONGEST SEA BRIDGE-TUNNEL SYSTEM totalling 55 KM, which consists of a
- 22.9 KM VIADUCT BRIDGE including 3 CABLE-STAYED BRIDGES
- 6.7 KM UNDERSEA TUNNEL
- 4 ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS (one of them appears in the video)
- LINK ROADS towards Hong Kong (12 KM), Macao & Zhuhai (13.4 KM)
HONG KONG – ZHUHAI – MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB)
The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai—three major cities on the Pearl River Delta
- Carries : 6 lanes of the China Expressway G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway
- Crosses : Pearl River Estuary (Lingding Channel/Jiuzhou Channel)
- Locale : Pearl River Delta
- Official name : Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
- Other name(s) : HZMB
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HONG KONG – ZHUHAI – MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB) ?
- Design : Bridge–tunnel system
- Total length : 55 kilometres
- Number of spans : 3
- Number of lanes : 6
- Design life : 120 years
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS CONSTRUCTION SECTIONS & ELEMENTS OF THE HZMB ?
The 55-km HZMB consists of 3 main sections
- The Main Bridge (29.6 km) in the middle of the Pearl River estuary
- The Hong Kong Link Road (12 km) in the east and
- The Zhuhai Link Road (13.4 km) in the west of the estuary
HONG KONG – ZHUHAI – MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB)
THE MAIN BRIDGE
- The Main Bridge, the largest part of the HZMB project is a bridge-cum-tunnel system constructed by the mainland Chinese authorities
- It connects an artificial island, housing the Boundary Crossing Facilities (BCF) for both mainland China and Macau in the west to the Hong Kong Link Road in the east
This section includes a
- 22.9 KM viaduct and a
- 6.7 KM undersea tunnel that runs between two artificial islands
The viaduct crosses the Pearl River estuary with three cable-stayed bridges spanning between 280 and 460 metres allowing shipping traffic to pass underneath
HONG KONG – ZHUHAI – MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB)
THE HONG KONG LINK ROAD
(UNDER HONG KONG JURISDICTION)
The Hong Kong Link Road was built to connect the Main Bridge to an artificial island housing the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF). This section includes a
- 9.4 KM viaduct
- 1 KM scenic Hill Tunnel and a
- 1.6-km at-grade road along the east coast of the Hong Kong International Airport
HONG KONG – ZHUHAI – MACAO BRIDGE (HZMB)
THE ZHUHAI LINK ROAD
- The Zhuhai Link Road starts from an artificial island housing the Boundary Crossing Facilities for both mainland China and Macau, passes through the developed area of Gongbei via a tunnel towards Zhuhai, and connects to three major expressways, namely, the Jing-Zhu Expressway, Guang-Zhu West Expressway and Jiang-Zhu Expressway
WHAT IS THE HISTORY BEHIND THE HZMB ?
- Construction start : 15 December 2009 (China Side) with a Commencement ceremony by Li Qe Qiang
- December 2011 (Hong Kong) after a delay caused by a legal challenge regarding the environmental impact of the bridge
- Construction end/completion of the entire construction project : 6 February 2018
- Construction cost : 127 billion yuan (US$18.8 billion)
- Inaugurated : 23 October 2018
- Opened : 24 October 2018, 09:00 UTC/GMT+8
WHAT WERE THE CONSTRUCTION MILESTONES OF THE HZMB ?
- The Tunnel
- Installation of the last straighted-element of the 4860-metre-long straight section of the undersea tunnel : 12 July 2016
- Installation of the final tunnel joint : 2 May 2017
- The Main Bridge (consisting of a viaduct and an undersea tunnel)
- Erection of the last Bridge Tower : 2 June 2016
- Completion of the construction : 6 July 2017
WHAT WERE THE LEGISLATIONS & APPROVALS BEHIND THE HZMB ?
- December 2001 : The Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a motion urging the Administration to develop the logistics industry including the construction of a bridge connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao.
- September 2002 : The China/Hong Kong Conference on Co-ordination of Major Infrastructure Projects agreed to a joint study on a transport link between Hong Kong and Pearl River West
WHAT WERE THE PREPARATION & PROJECT CO-ORDINATION ACTIVITIES OF THE HZMB ?
To coordinate the project, the Advance Work Coordination Group of HZMB was set up in 2003 with officials from three sides solved issues such as
- Landing points and alignments of the bridge
- Operation of the Border Crossing Facilities &
- Project financing
HOW WAS THE FINANCING ACHIEVED FOR THE HZMB ?
- China’s Central Government, Hong Kong &Macau agreed to finance 22 percent of the total costs
- The remaining 78 percent consisted of loans from a consortium of banks led by Bank of China
WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE HZMB ?
- The HZMB links three major cities Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau, which are geographically close but separated by water
- With the bridge in place, travelling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong would cut down from about four hours to 30 minutes on the road
- The HZMB project is part of a strategy to create an economic hub and promote the economic development of the whole area of the Pearl River Delta, which is also known as Greater Bay Area
- Hoping to leverage the bridge and create an economic zone linking the three cities, Zhuhai’s Hengqin area was designated as a free trade zone in 2015
HOW ABOUT LEFT & RIGHT-HAND TRAFFIC ? HOW IS IT HANDLED ON THE HZMB ?
- Although the HZMB connects two left-hand traffic (LHT) areas namely Hong Kong and Macau, the crossing itself is right-hand traffic (RHT) the same as in Zhuhai and other regions of China
- Thus, drivers from Hong Kong and Macau need to make use of crossing viaducts to switch to RHT upon entering the bridge, and back to LHT upon leaving the bridge when they are back to Hong Kong and Macau
- Traffic between Zhuhai and the bridge requires no left-right conversion as they are both RHT
WHAT IS THE PUBLIC & PRIVATE TRANSPORT OPTIONS & OPERATIONAL ON THE HZMB ?
Public Transport : Shuttle buses & Other buses
The HZMBus shuttle bus service runs 24 hours a day with bus departures as frequent as every five minutes. The journey across the HZMB takes about 40 minutes. There are lot of other options
What are the various Transport Regulations & Restrictions on the HZMB ?
Enter Zhuhai : From Hong Kong to Zhuhai
- Currently only 10,000 permits for private vehicles to drive across the HZMB from Hong Kong to Zhuhai are issued
Enter Hong Kong : From Zhuhai & Macao
- In addition, the number of vehicles permitted to enter Hong Kong and Macau from other regions is subject to a daily quota
- Since the Hong Kong government imposes significant fees, taxes and administrative paperwork on private vehicle ownership and usage to deal with road congestion driving a car on the HZMB would incur the same restrictions as current cross-border traffic
These include
- Applying for separate driving licences for both Hong Kong and mainland China
- A Hong Kong Closed Road Permit for cross-boundary vehicles and
- An Approval Notice from the Guangdong Public Security Bureau
- Vehicle owners also need to ensure they have the appropriate insurance coverage for the regions they are travelling to
Enter Macao : From Hong Kong & Zhuhai
- To help compact Macau tackle its road congestion problems, drivers arriving from other regions are strongly encouraged to use a park and ride scheme, leaving their vehicles at a car park on the edge of Macau
- A small quota of 300 vehicles are allowed to enter Macau directly
THE ØRESUND BRIDGE & TUNNEL > LAND LINK BETWEEN SWEDEN & DENMARK
