Construction of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge will begin before the end of next year as part of Beijing’s 4 trillion yuan (USD 600 billion) stimulus package to boost domestic demand, reports the South China Morning Post.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-director of the National Development and Reform Commission, announced the decision in Beijing. Whether this amounts in effect to China taking over the funding for the project or whether private sector involvement will still be sought is not yet clear.
Although the Hong Kong government has previously said it would coordinate the search for private backers, that strategy was dealt a blow a fortnight ago when Hong Kong-listed Hopewell Holdings said it would no longer seek to be a financial partner in the project. The announcement was widely seen as a result of fall out from the global credit crisis.
Beijing’s plan will push construction forward by several months. An estimated 70 billion yuan (USD10.6 billion) will be needed for the project, with about 32.7 billion yuan for the bridge structure itself.
