Among China's cross-sea bridges, the largest, longest and most invested is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which was once called the Seven Wonders of the World by the British newspaper The Guardian. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is 55 kilometers long, of which 36 kilometers are undersea tunnels.
From planning to construction, and then to the final opening to traffic, after 30 years, such a huge project, once opened to traffic, people can imagine the scene of heavy traffic on the bridge. But this is not the case, there are few cars passing on the bridge, and the bridge has almost become a decoration, so is it really worth investing 126.9 billion to build such a bridge?
1. Bridge construction process
In the early 80s, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, located at the forefront of reform and opening up, developed rapidly, and in order to meet the needs of economic development and facilitate trade exchanges, it was urgent to improve the existing road transportation. In 1983, Hu Yingxiang, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, proposed to the authorities to build a cross-sea bridge connecting Hong Kong and Zhuhai to facilitate trade between the mainland and Hong Kong, a proposal that was not adopted by the Zhuhai government until 1989.
It was not until 1998 that the cross-sea bridge project was officially approved by the State Council, and in 2003 began to attract foreign investment construction, when Germany proposed 100 billion to provide design drawings to help build the bridge, which was rejected by Chinese engineers. In 2005, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge began to carry out the preliminary route laying and the final landing point determination. After evaluation and planning, it was finally decided to adopt the Y-shaped line connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, and set the foothold on Lantau Island, Macao Pearl Point and Zhuhai Gongbei in Hong Kong.
Construction began in 2009, and according to the engineer's design, the entire bridge consists of three parts, a bridge, an artificial island and an undersea tunnel. The total length of the bridge is 55 kilometers, the main project of the bridge is about 22.9 kilometers long, and the 9.6 kilometers undersea tunnel connects the east and west artificial islands, which is the world's largest bridge integrating island bridges and tunnels. In the construction process, there were many difficulties, from the construction of tunnels in the deep sea to the construction of artificial islands, and the amount of engineering at every step was very large.
It took nine years to officially open to traffic on October 26, 2018, and from this day the original three-to-four hour journey from Hong Kong to Macau was shortened to only 45 minutes, saving time and cost.
2. Why is there no traffic?
After the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the total number of vehicles opened throughout the day is only about 4,000, the highest is 6,200, if calculated according to the charge of 150 yuan per car, the total income in a year is less than 500 million. Equivalent to a construction cost of 126.9 billion yuan, it will take more than 300 hundred years to pay back. Not adding the annual repair and maintenance costs, it is equivalent to losing money every year. So why are so few vehicles on the bridge?
It turns out that the requirements for getting on the bridge are relatively high, and the general driver cannot meet the requirements. First of all, between Xiangao and the mainland, you can not come if you want, you can leave if you want, you must have a Hong Kong and Macao pass. According to the management measures of the bridge, the driver's license must be common in three places, and the vehicle driven at the same time must also have three license plates, and it costs a lot to apply for a driver's license and license plate, basically starting from hundreds of thousands.
In addition, for applying for general license plates in three places, not everyone is eligible, and the total tax payment must reach 100,000 within 3 years, and the requirements for mainland entry into Hong Kong are higher, and the total tax payment must reach 1 million within three years. That is to say, as long as the assets reach millions, tens of millions are eligible to pass, not everyone is a millionaire, so the bridge opening rate is relatively low.
Third, the significance of building bridges
Since the traffic rate is low and the requirements for getting on the bridge are high, what is the significance of its establishment? First of all, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is an important transportation artery connecting Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai. It has provided convenient conditions for the economic development of the three places, realized the interconnection between the inland and Hong Kong and Macao, and realized the political situation in which the two sides of the strait and the three places are one family. At the same time, the establishment of the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge has proved to the world the strength of China's foundation-building ability and proved China's strength.
Although the bridge management system is now strict, this may be the result of the government's comprehensive consideration from all aspects. If the mainland's economic level is not much different from that of Hong Kong and Macao one day, then the policy will definitely be adjusted. By that time, China's strength in all aspects was obvious to all, after all, the bridge was built to achieve economic interconnection and common development.
IV. Summary
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is a symbol of China's rapid development, it not only costs a huge cost to build the bridge, but also consumes a lot of manpower and time, its completion itself is a miracle, no matter what kind of eyes the world uses to look at it, we should not question the meaning of its existence. From the beginning of the project to the final opening of the project, every step of the decision is carefully thought out by the government, and we should be proud of such a great project and hope to experience it one day.
So what do you think about the completion of the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge?