The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link under construction Photo: VCG

 
The main artery of the 24-kilometer-long Shenzhen-Zhongshan link in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) was completed on Tuesday, marking the most significant progress before the project is scheduled to open to traffic in 2024, Chinese media reported. 

The link is a part of the world-class cross-sea infrastructure project integrating two bridges, two artificial islands, a two-way eight-lane tunnel with a designated speed of 100 kilometers per hour, and a series of underwater channels. 

The project is considered to be one of the most difficult and comprehensive construction of cross-sea cluster projects in the world, China Media Group reported on Tuesday. The project will connect Shenzhen and Zhongshan cities, and the provincial capital Guangzhou through the connection line. 

The link is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities from more than two hours to about 30 minutes once operational in mid-2024. 

After the commissioning of the project, Shenzhen and Zhongshan on the east and west sides of the Pearl River estuary will be integrated within a "half-hour commute circle," which will promote interconnection of the city clusters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

On June 20, the construction of the main structure of the east artificial island of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan link was completed. On June 11, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan underwater tunnel, the world's longest and widest steel-shelled concrete undersea tunnel, finished construction. 



Global Times