Delta bridge to open 24 hours

Border posts at the three ends of a highway across the Pearl River Delta will be open around the clock, although that might not be possible immediately after the bridge’s opening in 2016, according to the South China Morning Post.
An agreement signed by authorities from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau released Tuesday said the three governments would determine the best date for 24-hour operation to start, said the Hong Kong paper yesterday.
The move is seen as another measure to boost use of the bridge, which after a 20-year delay in construction, is facing competition from other road networks and infrastructure – including a soon-to-be-built link that connects Shenzhen and Zhongshan.
It has been promised that the toll will be kept at the minimum needed to repay a 22 billion yuan bank loan, interest, and the bridge’s repair and maintenance expenses. The governments are not supposed to make a profit from the toll, which means it may eventually be reduced.
The agreement also specifies the rights and responsibilities of the three governments concerning the construction, operation, maintenance and management of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge’s main structure.
Guangdong will replace Hong Kong as the chair of a committee that will make major decisions on the 37.73 billion yuan main bridge, which is over mainland waters. The province will also nominate the head of a bureau under the committee to oversee daily operations.
The committee will comprise nine members – three from each government. Each team will nominate its own leader, and the leader or an appointed substitute must attend committee meetings to ensure no parties are left out of major decisions.
One billion yuan will be set aside from the project’s capital fund for the setting up of the bureau that oversees daily operations. It will also be responsible for raising loans to cover any shortfall in capital. The three governments will each pick a deputy chief to the bureau.
The tendering of the main construction work will be regulated by mainland laws, which means firms without a permit from mainland authorities cannot bid. However, the contracts worth more than 400 billion yuan may fall under the scrutiny of the World Trade Organisation and should be opened to all international bidders.
The South China Morning Post said that Hong Kong engineers suspected most major contracts would go to China’s mainland firms.