Tagged: Macau bridge
Macau govt takes control of bridge, but still no opening date
The Macau government yesterday formally took control of the local section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, but officials were still unable to say when it would open.
State media reported in January that the 56-kilometre bridge across the Pearl River mouth would open in May.
The Guangdong government handed control of the Port Management Zone to the Macao government in a ceremony attended by Macau chief executive Fernando Chui on Thursday.
The Macau government said in a statement the bridge was currently not open to public use and could not advise when it would be come into service.
It said it was still working on establishing coordination “between the bodies responsible for managing the Bridge and the Macao public departments responsible for managing the boundary crossing facilities.”
The bridge, under construction since 2009, will cost Hong Kong government an estimated HK$120 billion. It was originally slated to open in 2016, but was hit by a series of delays and scandals.
The project includes the main bridge, an 11-kilometre viaduct and link road on Lantau’s north coast, an artificial island for border crossing, and a sub-sea tunnel to Tuen Mun.
The final piece of the project, a freeway from Tuen Mun to the Shenzhen border, is yet to be costed.
Photo: The 5th Detachment of the Guangdong Public Security Border Defence Corps 5th Detachment (left) hand over a model of the bridge to Macau Customs officials
Explains a lot: Lantau is central to Leung’s reelection
Zhang Dejiang’s short visit (or inspection) has told us that Lantau is not just a big deal in Hong Kong. It’s a pretty big deal in Beijing, and an even bigger deal for CY Leung’s reelection (or ‘reelection’) strategy.
The Development Bureau was the first place on Zhang’s official agenda, which soon became well-known to Hong Kong thanks to this photograph of the VIP inspecting this hefty 3D visualisation of the Lantau plans:
Suits meet the model (Source: Development Bureau)
So the bridge isn’t going to help Lantau tourism
It seems even the boosters of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge don’t think it will help the local tourism industry.
The SCMP has run two slightly panicked pieces on the pending opening of Shanghai Disneyland and just how badly that might hurt our own temple to the Mouse.
A long feature on Saturday asked if the two cities can “share the spoils?” Yet in the hefty list of compelling features at the local Disney site – we’re talking Iron Man Experience and Fairy Tale Forest here – no one has thought to mention the bridge.
Deaths, injuries have delayed Macau bridge by more than a year
Industrial accidents on the Macau bridge project have killed six workers and delayed the project by more than a year, according to local news site HK01.
The Highways Dept has attributed delays to labour shortages and the uncertain supply of materials, but the rising toll of injury could be the biggest factor of all.
Source: Wikipedia
According to HK01, the project has been shut down as a result of injuries and safety issues for 439 days. As well as the six deaths, 129 workers have been injured since construction began in 2011. Continue reading
Macau bridge could be the biggest fail of them all
Photo: James Wong (Creative Commons)
More evidence that the HK-Macau bridge is shaping to be an even bigger disaster than the other budget-busting SAR mega-projects.
Howard Winn (the former SCMP Lai See editor) reports that in the rush to get the project completed the Highways Department has been cutting corners. It’s been trying to construct the border crossing on reclaimed land that is not yet ready for construction.
“The problem is that once again Hong Kong has allowed itself to be bullied into building this too quickly”, said one experienced engineering consultant. In the past Hong Kong has left reclaimed land to settle for between 5-15 years before building on it. “The problem with the [border crossing] is that it hasn’t been left long enough and it is still settling.” Engineers are still considering what do about the problem.
Lantau Confidential 