Public-private financing agreed for express road north

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Cross-River Channel and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridges will be linked by Xingye Express Road (North Section) via Public-Private Partnership (PPP) financing.

A cooperation deal was signed on Dec 19, and work on the 17-km section will get under way on Dec 28 and be completed by the end of 2020.

The municipal transportation construction cost of 6.4 billion yuan ($971 million) is the largest investment of its kind for a single project in Zhuhai history. And now, the express road is the first of its kind in Zhuhai to adopt the PPP mode for its construction.

Zhuhai Gree Group Corp received notification from the Municipal Highway Bureau, the office overseeing the project, that the bid by its consortium was successful. Representatives then agreed on a chain of project operations including construction, management, and financing.

Signing ceremony [Photo by Zhong Fan / Zhuhai Daily]

Serving Zhuhai's "Nine Vertical & Five Horizontal" urban street layout, the new route will join Jinqin Express Road to improve north-south rapid transit through downtown Zhuhai.

A link between Gongbei Bay and core urban and northern areas, the passage will run northward to reach the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge with access to the engineered island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in the long run.

In the shape of the letter "Y," the project will have two lines. The east line will start from Tangle Road in Tangjiawan and pass through Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus and Jishan Village in the south to join the west line which will set off from Hagongda Road and traverse East Jintang Road. Tunnel sections running through Fenghuang Mt with a total estimated length of 13.8 km are required before the lines meet. The main road will pass Dajing Mt Community Park and cross Meihua Road to connect with the south section of the project.

The infrastructure is of strategic importance in optimizing the urban road network, and meets the goal set by the Urban Overall Plan (2001-20) and 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) for the Development of a Comprehensive Transportation System in Zhuhai, claimed a city government official.