World’s longest sea bridge has enough iron to build 60 Eiffel towers
The world's longest sea bridge connects Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macao, with a total length of 55 km. The bridge could resist the impact of a super typhoon or a magnitude-8 earthquake.
The world’s longest sea bridge, linking Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai – which opened on Tuesday – took nine years to build and reportedly has enough iron to build 60 Eiffel towers.
The bridge is part of the push by the government in Beijing to integrate the Greater Bay Area, a global business hub comprising Hong Kong, Macau and nine provinces in Guangdong province.
The 29.6km bridge, the world’s longest, will cut the travel time between Hong Kong to Zhuhai from three hours to just around 45 minutes.
The inauguration ceremony was overseen by China’s president, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday.
The authorities say the bridge could resist the impact of a super typhoon or a magnitude-8 quake.
Its opening had been scheduled for 2016 but was delayed due to problems that included work accidents, an investigation surrounding corruption, technical obstacles and budget slippages.
According to estimates by local media, the bridge cost some €15.3 billion and the Chinese authorities forecast that around 29,100 vehicles will use the bridge every day in 2030.
LUSA