*HONG KONG – An opening ceremony has finally been announced for theworld’s longest sea bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China,but critics hit back Thursday over the secrecy surrounding the launch.*
Construction started in 2009 on the 55-kilometre (34-mile) crossing, whichincludes a snaking road bridge and underwater tunnel, linking Hong Kong’sLantau island to the southern mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai and thegambling enclave of Macau, across the waters of the Pearl River Estuary.
It has been dogged by delays, budget overruns, corruption prosecutions andthe deaths of construction workers.
While supporters promote it as an engineering marvel, others see themulti-billion dollar project as a costly white elephant designed to furtherintegrate Hong Kong into the mainland at a time when Beijing is tighteningits grip on the semi-autonomous city.
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Local media received invites from Beijing’s liaison office in Hong KongWednesday to an “opening ceremony” in Zhuhai on Tuesday, with no furtherdetails given.
China’s President Xi Jinping is reported to be attending the event, butthere has been no official confirmation whether the bridge will go intooperation that day.
Hong Kong’s transport department had no immediate answer Thursday when AFPasked whether it would be fully commissioned Tuesday.
Bus companies supposed to be operating on the bridge complained they werein the dark.
“At such short notice and without any details, how can we make thenecessary logistic arrangements?” Eddie Choi, a spokesman for coachoperator One Bus Hong Kong Macau, told the South China Morning Post.
An official from the mainland-based bridge authority told AFP the bridgewould be “considered open” from Tuesday and confirmed there would be accessthat day to registered cars and buses, but did not elaborate.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki who sits on the Hong Kong government’stransport panel said he only learned of the launch ceremony from mediareports Wednesday and had not received an invite to the opening.
But members of the transport panel have been invited to a bridge inspectionSaturday, he said.
Kwok accused officials of secrecy and said there were still many unansweredquestions.
“Although Hong Kong people have paid a lot for the construction and have asubstantial share in this bridge, we have no control,” said pro-democracylegislator Tanya Chan, also on the transport panel, who added that she hadno idea what the opening ceremony Tuesday entailed.
“The Hong Kong government is always out of the picture and is under thecontrol of the Chinese government,” she said. – APP/AFP