The emergence of China as an economic superpower

Since Beijing gave the green light to build a bridge linking the three major Chinese cities in Pearl River Delta region, Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, almost three years ago in 2005, financing negotiations completely stalled the planning and construction of the bridge. Yesterday, the three regional governments arrived at an agreement for the 29-kilometer bridge: Hong Kong will contribute 50.2%, Guangdong will pay 35.1% and Macau 14.7%. This division was based on the proposed "economic benefit" to each respective region. Hong Kong's Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said that further studies on engineering will have to be conducted, but the agreements made yesterday was a step ahead.

The bridge's estimated cost is HK$30 billion. The bridge, once constructed, is expected to become a landmark in the region, for its length is comparable to the longest bridge in the world, the Second Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (29.6 km vs. 38.4 km), and will boost the local economies at both ends of the bridge (Macau for its casinos and Hong Kong for its financial businesses). The bridge was first proposed in 1982 by Gordon Wu. Seems like we've come a long way since then.