BEIJING – At 55 kilometers, it’s the world’s longest sea-crossing bridgeand connects the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau withmainland China. But the project was hit by delays, cost overruns and safetyconcerns.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday opened the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau,the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge that links the semi-autonomouscities of Hong Kong and Macau with the city of Zhuhai on the Chinesemainland.
Construction began in 2009 but the project has been dogged by corruptionprosecutions and the deaths of workers. Delays and cost overruns caused thefinal price tag of the 55-kilometer (34-mile) bridge to total around $20billion (€17.5 billion).
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The bridge passes through the Pearl River Delta, an important manufacturingregion, and is set to cut the time taken to cross the area from severalhours to 30 minutes. Authorities will restrict access to the bridge todrivers who have applied for special permits.
