Greater Bay Area plan begins to take shape

A section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is seen on July 7, 2017. An underground tunnel section of the long-awaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was completed on Friday, marking the end of construction of the main structure for the world's longest cross-sea bridge.[Photo/Xinhua]

The Greater Bay Area plan has been submitted to China's top economic planner, Economic Information Daily reported Tuesday.

The plan to develop a city cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission at the end of last month, said Wu Weibao, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

The plan outlines the target, development direction and major tasks of the Greater Bay Area, which comprises Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong province－Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Foshan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.

The concept of the Greater Bay Area was envisioned years ago, and Premier Li Keqiang announced its official debut in his government work at the National People's Congress session in March.

According to the timeline, a globally competitive cluster of metropolises in the Greater Bay Area will be almost fully established by 2020, while by 2030, it will become a global first-class bay area and city cluster, also a global advanced manufacturing, innovation, international shipping, financial and trade center.

The Greater Bay Area could also play an important role in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, said Hu Chunhua, Party chief of Guangdong province.

Last year, the combined GDP of 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area reached $1.4 trillion. The area, which has less than one percent of China's land and about five percent of the population, contributed about 12 percent to the national economy.

The main structure of the world's longest sea bridge, which links Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, was completed last Friday. The project is also part of the plan to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.