CHINA: Longest sea-crossing the Hangzhou Bay Bridge completed

Record ID: 846662

  • Title: CHINA: Longest sea-crossing the Hangzhou Bay Bridge completed
  • Date: 27th June 2007
  • Summary: EXTERIOR OF MOTORCYLE FACTORY OF CHINA KONCED GROUP FLAGS OF CHINA KONCED GROUP AND CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG VARIOUS OF WORKERS ASSEMBLING MOTORCYCLE IN FACTORY VARIOUS OF MOTORCYLES ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) SHEN DINGKANG, PRESIDENT OF CHINA KONCED GROUP, SAYING: "The bridge will reduce a lot of our costs. For a motorcycle maker like us, we need to deliver our produ
  • Embargoed: 12th July 2007 13:00
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  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7XOHBTWOFPBLNBCORDYSNMD1U
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  • Story Text: China on Tuesday (June 26, 2007) completed construction of the world's longest sea-crossing bridge, a 36-kilometre-long road link across the East China Sea.
    Costing about $1.5 billion, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge dwarfs other bridges across seawater, such as the 25-km causeway connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. It is long enough to link Britain and France across the English Channel.
    Built to withstand typhoons that hit the eastern Chinese seabord near Shanghai, as well as shifting soil conditions, the concrete-and-steel bridge took three years to complete and was one of China's most challenging construction projects.
    Firecrackers and traditional dancers greeted over a thousand guests at a ceremony in the middle of the bridge as engineers finished work on the final construction block.
    "The Hangzhou Bay Bridge stands out as the world's longest sea-crossing bridge in comparison with those already built as well as those in construction. In terms of its design, construction, facilities, management and other various aspects, it is incomparable in the world today. For the bridge to be able to cross Hangzhou Bay, it is a great and difficult challenge for its construction," said Wang Yong, vice mayor of Ningbo city.
    With three lanes in each direction and a rest and refuelling area at its middle, the bridge links Cixi (pron: chee-see) City in Zhejiang province with Jiaxing (pron: djeeah-sing) City to the north, shortening the journey between Shanghai and the major port of Ningbo by 120 km.
    Officials aim to open the bridge to traffic in June 2008 after support facilities such as toll gates and feeder roads are completed
    The Hangzhou Bay Bridge will serve as a link to one of the most dymamic economic zones on the country's east shore, providing a vital link between the commercial city of Shanghai and the coastal Zhejiang and Jiangzu provinces.
    These cities are part of the broader Yangtze River zone which is home to more than 100 industrial parks and accounts for about 20 percent of the country's GDP.
    The bridge has also fuelled the construction of the Hangzhou Bay New Economic Zone which was established in June 2005.
    The zone will feature various tax incentives for companies based there, including exemption of taxes for import of machinery used in production as well as for imported goods which are exported after processing.
    The sprawling economic zone with an area of 143 square kilometres, is already home to more than 200 companies.
    "The bridge will reduce a lot of our costs. For a motorcycle maker like us, we need to deliver our products via road vehicles. This is especially so for us as we need to send our bikes to central and northern China, and we need to pass through Shanghai and Jiangsu province. With this bridge it will reduce our travel distance by about 150 kilometers. So it not only increases the speed of our delivery, it will also bring our costs down," said Shen Dingkang, president of motorcycle maker China Konced Group.
    The S-shaped, cable-stayed bridge will allow traffic to travel at a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour.
    The official Xinhua news agency said private firms provided about 29 percent of the bridge's cost, making it one of China's first big infrastructure projects to involve major private participation. Costs will be recouped through a toll system.
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