The long-awaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will open in the second quarter of 2018, according to a report in China Daily.
Although no official dates have been released, the media outlet cited sources “familiar with the matter” as revealing that services will begin between May and June depending on the construction progress of port facilities in Hong Kong and Zhuhai. Macau is reportedly on track to complete its checkpoint earlier.
China’s Central Government will confirm the official opening date in the coming months, China Daily said, with the governments of Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong province yet to finalize policies relating to cross-border traffic.
Chief Engineer of the HZMB Authority, Su Quanke, revealed last month that all work on the key bridge-island-tunnel complex spanning 30 kilometers of the bridge’s total 55-kilometer length would be completed in early February. The remaining ports and link roads are the responsibility of the respective governments.
It was recently reported that the cost of construction of the bridge, which first began in 2009, has exceeded budget by HK$11.8 billion, rising from an original estimate of HK$36.5 billion to almost HK$50 billion.
