The announcement was made by transport and housing secretary Eva Cheng following the latest meeting of the advance work co-ordination group. The bridge's engineering feasibility report is set to be submitted to the central government in December for scrutiny.

She said that nearly 40 studies have been completed under the feasibility report, covering areas including construction, impact on navigation channels, flooding prevention, wind testing and environmental impact. The work has taken about four years.

"The submission of the report by Guangdong implies the bridge project has entered the design and construction stage," she said.