Traffic over Bay Area mega bridge booming

Flows of passengers and goods over the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge — a mega sea-crossing project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — have increased significantly since the bridge opened to traffic four years ago, authorities said.

The import and export of goods through Zhuhai port surpassed 4.16 million metric tons, with a total value of 445.2 billion yuan ($61.58 billion) from October 2018 to August 2022, according to local customs.

In the first nine months of this year alone, the import and export value increased by 82.4 percent year-on-year to 191.45 billion yuan, which exceeded the total value in 2021.

Zhuhai Haimiao Aquatic Products Import and Export Co, for example, exported aquatic products worth of 220 million yuan in the first half of 2022 via the bridge's Zhuhai port, an increase of 181 percent year-on-year, according to a company source.

"It is very convenient for customs clearance at the bridge port, which is of great importance to ensuring the freshness of aquatic products," said Zhou Chaobin, president of the company.

In terms of passenger flow, Zhuhai port has so far served nearly 24 million inbound and outbound passengers and more than 4.73 million inbound and outbound vehicles.

The 55-kilometer bridge, which crosses the Lingding Ocean and connects with Hong Kong on the eastern side and Zhuhai and Macao on the western side, began construction in 2009. It opened to traffic service in October 2018.

After the opening of the bridge, travel time between Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao has been reduced from three hours to less than one hour, helping accelerate the progress of a one-hour living circle in the Greater Bay Area.

Separate border crossing customs and immigration facilities for clearance have been built in Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, providing a 24-hour clearance services.

The three ports are managed by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and located within their jurisdictions. Zhuhai and Macao have adopted an innovative mode of joint inspection and one-stop clearances.