The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link in the world. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong and Macau with Zhuhai—a major city on the Pearl River Delta in China.
The HZM Bridge was designed to last for 120 years and cost ¥127 billion (US$18.8 billion) to build. The cost of constructing the Main Bridge was estimated at ¥51.1 billion (US$7.56 billion) funded by bank loans and shared among the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Originally set to be opened to traffic in late 2016, the structure was completed on 6 February 2018 and journalists were subsequently taken for a ride over the bridge. On 24 October 2018 the HZMB was opened to the public after its inauguration a day earlier by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping.
Hopewell Holdings founder and then-managing director Gordon Wu proposed the concept of a bridge-tunnel linking mainland China, British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau in the 1980s. Wu stated that he got the idea in 1983 from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel. In 1988 Wu pitched the concept to Guangdong and Beijing officials. He envisaged a link farther north than the current design, beginning at Black Point near Tuen Mun, Hong Kong and crossing the Pearl River estuary via Nei Lingding Island and Qi'ao Island. His proposed bridge would have ended at the Chinese village of Tangjia, and a new road would have continued south through Zhuhai before terminating at Macau. Discussions stalled after the Tiananmen Square protests in mid-1989 "unnerved" Wu and other foreign investors, and caused Hopewell's Hong Kong share prices to plunge.
The route proposed by Wu was promoted by the Zhuhai government under the name Lingdingyang Bridge. In the mid-1990s, Zhuhai built a bridge between the Zhuhai mainland and Qi'ao Island that was intended as the first phase of this route, though the full scheme had not been approved by either the Chinese or Hong Kong governments at the time. China's central government showed support for this project on 30 December 1997. The new Hong Kong government was reluctant, stating that it was still awaiting cross-border traffic study results, and Hong Kong media questioned the environmental impact of the project with regard to air pollution, traffic and marine life.
In December 2001 the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a motion urging the Administration to develop the logistics industry including the construction of a bridge connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. In September 2002, the China/Hong Kong Conference on Co-ordination of Major Infrastructure Projects agreed to a joint study on a transport link between Hong Kong and Pearl River West.
To coordinate the project, the Advance Work Coordination Group of HZMB was set up in 2003. Officials from three sides solved issues such as landing points and alignments of the bridge, operation of the Border Crossing Facilities, and project financing.
In August 2008, China's central government, the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau agreed to finance 42 percent of the total costs. The remaining 58% consisted of loans (approximately ¥22 billion or US$3.23 billion) from the Bank of China.
In March 2009, it was further reported that China's central government, Hong Kong and Macau agreed to finance 22 percent of the total costs. The remaining 78 percent consisted of loans (approximately ¥57.3 billion or US$8.4 billion) from a consortium of banks led by Bank of China.
Construction of the HZMB project began on 15 December 2009 on the Chinese side, with the CCP Politburo Standing member and Vice Premier of China Li Keqiang holding a commencement ceremony. Construction of the Hong Kong section of the project began in December 2011 after a delay caused by a legal challenge regarding the environmental impact of the bridge.
The last bridge tower was erected on 2 June 2016. The last straight element of the 4,860-metre-long (15,940 ft) straight section of the undersea tunnel was installed on 12 July 2016, and the final tunnel joint was installed on 2 May 2017. Construction of the Main Bridge, consisting of a viaduct and an undersea tunnel was completed on 6 July 2017. The entire construction project was completed on 6 February 2018. 19 workers died over the course of the construction period.
The 55-kilometre (34 mi) HZMB consists of three main sections: the Main Bridge (29.6 km or 18.4 mi) in the middle of the Pearl River estuary, the Hong Kong Link Road (12 km or 7.5 mi) in the east, and the Zhuhai Link Road (13.4 km or 8.3 mi) in the west of the estuary.
The Main Bridge, the largest part of the HZMB project, is a bridge-tunnel system constructed by the mainland Chinese authorities. It connects Zhuhai-Macao Port Artificial Island, an artificial island housing the Boundary Crossing Facilities (BCF) for both mainland China and Macau in the west, to the Hong Kong Link Road in the east.
This section includes a 22.9-kilometre (14.2 mi) bridge construction and a 6.7-kilometre (4.2 mi) immersed tube undersea tunnel that runs between two artificial islands, the Blue Dolphin Island on the west and the White Dolphin Island on the east. The bridge construction crosses the Pearl River estuary with three cable-stayed bridges spanning between 280 and 460 metres (920 and 1,510 ft), allowing shipping traffic to pass underneath.
Administered under the Highways Department of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Link Road connects the main bridge-tunnel to an artificial island housing the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF). This section includes a 9.4-kilometre (5.8 mi) bridge construction, a 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) Scenic Hill Tunnel, and a 1.6-kilometre (0.99 mi) at-grade road along the east coast of the Chek Lap Kok.
The Zhuhai Link Road starts from Zhuhai-Macao Port Artificial Island, passes through the developed area of Gongbei via a tunnel towards Zhuhai, and connects to three major expressways, namely, the Jing-Zhu Expressway, Guang-Zhu West Expressway, and Jiang-Zhu Expressway.
Opened in October 2024, the 3-kilometre-long (1.9 mi) bridge provides alternative access to Taipa Island from the HZMB boundary office.
Although the HZMB connects two left-hand traffic (LHT) areas, namely Hong Kong and Macau, the crossing itself is right-hand traffic (RHT), the same as in Zhuhai and other regions of mainland China (the bridge is technically in Zhuhai for most of its length). Thus, drivers from Hong Kong and Macau need to make use of crossing viaducts to switch to RHT upon entering the bridge, and back to LHT upon leaving the bridge when they are back to Hong Kong and Macau. Traffic between Zhuhai and the bridge requires no left-right conversion as they are both RHT.