A bridge spanning the Pearl River to connect Shenzhen and Zhongshan will be built to further the integration of Pearl River Delta cities, according to a government report at the annual session of the Guangdong Provincial Legislature.
According to the Guangdong Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the project, including a bridge and 50-kilometer expressway, will cost 30 billion RMB (4.5 billion USD). Shenzhen Party Chief Wang Rong last week said the project involved Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Guangzhou, and the location and that the impact on navigation needs to be coordinated and approved by the provincial and Central governments.
Wang said the project was a key infrastructure project and the Shenzhong (Shenzhen-Zhongshan) Bridge will be a golden passage to promote economic exchange on both sides of the river.
The uncertainty of the start of the Shenzhong Bridge was due partly to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge approval by the Central Government, said Li Miaojuan, director of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Deputies of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress proposed building the Shenzhong Bridge because the Humen Bridge was overloaded and a bottleneck would likely form in the delta city transport network if a new bridge was not built. When the bridge is completed, it will take only 30 minutes from Zhongshan to the Shenzhen airport and airports in Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Hong Kong will be able to be reached within an hour.
