Hong Kong’s government has announced that the main section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will not be ready by next summer.
The overall project consists of the main bridge works in mainland waters being conducted by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Authority, and link roads and boundary crossing facilities for which the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau governments are responsible.
The government had already announced last year that there would be delays in the completion of the link roads and boundary crossing facilities.
The latest announcement from the Transport & Housing Bureau said that both the main bridge project and the related projects saw construction difficulties and pressure in staying on schedule. “The authority and the three governments compiled and assessed the works programme at the end of last year and concluded that it would not be feasible for the project, including the Main Bridge project, to be completed for commissioning by the end of this year,” it said.
A final assessment will be conducted and the revised target commissioning date of the entire project will be reported to the government.
The bureau said that there has been an unstable supply of materials, a labour shortage, a height restriction, environmental protection requirements and slower-than-expected consolidation of the reclamation areas. The Highways Department expects the Hong Kong projects can only be completed by the end of next year
