Beijing authorities have revealed that the long-awaited opening ceremony for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB) will be held next Tuesday 23 October, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping. But there remains some confusion over whether or not the ceremony will also signal the start of operations for the world’s longest sea bridge linking the three key southern China cities.
According to the South China Morning Post, there is still no official clarification on whether the bridge will be open for business following the ceremony, with one source stating, “We are still awaiting confirmation from the mainland authorities – there may be a last-minute change.”
Officials last month conducted a full test of the HKZMB – which spans 55 kilometers – and its various border crossing facilities but until now there has been no word on when the HK$50 billion project would finally open.
Suggestions that it could now be operational before the end of the month potentially leaves companies tasked with running inter-city transport services scrambling. They include One Bus, which will run 19 buses between Hong Kong and Macau, with the SCMP quoting spokesman Eddie Choi as stating, “We hoped to have ample time to make manpower arrangements and to promote our new coach services.
“At such short notice and without any details, how can we make the necessary logistic arrangements? It will cause chaos and great inconvenience to the passengers.”
Choi said the company had asked Transport Department officials if the bridge would open on the same day as the ceremony but “they had no clue.”
Beijing reportedly told the SCMP that the late notice was due to security requirements for President Xi.
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