Hongkong-Guangdong bridge gains |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/08/06 15:04 Shanghai Daily |
The leaders of Hong Kong and Guangdong Province yesterday agreed to move ahead with a plan for a bridge to link their territories with Macau. After talks with Guang-dong Governor Huang Huahua, Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa told reporters that they would form a preparatory committee to study the project's environmental and economic impacts. "This is a very important step forward," Tung said. The group, whose first meeting is scheduled for August 30, will report to the central government and apply for final approval, he said, reiterating that mainland authorities were supportive of the project. No final decision has been made. The bridge will connect Hong Kong with the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province and Macau. Officials in Hong Kong hope it will help revitalize Hong Kong's depressed economy by linking it with booming cities in nei-ghboring Guangdong Province. Once a manufacturing stronghold, Hong Kong's economy became reliant on the service industry after many factories were driven north into the mainland by rising land and labor costs. Struggling with rapid deflation and record unem-ployment, Tung has said the territory's economic future now lies in providing logisti-cs and other professional services to the industrial center it lost to Guangdong. The proposed 29-kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge has been discussed for years with a cost estimated at US2 billion. |
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