Contractor schedules final touches on HZMB

The now-completed artificial island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Zhuhai Port will be handed over on Dec 30, it was announced by Lu Junsi, chairman of construction and management firm Gree Real Estate, on Oct 13.

Zhuhai Port accommodates inspection A/B areas, transport center, traffic corridor, entry-exit cargo inspection area, and municipal engineering and support facilities -- a vital region for border crossings between Hong Kong, Zhuhai, and Macao.

The significant structure is part of Zhuhai & Macao Boundary Crossing Facilities which also include a Macao port for respective customs inspections. It connects to the Zhuhai link road and accesses the Main Bridge Section in the east.

Located in Gongbei Bay, work on the 2.4 billion yuan ($364.4 million) reclamation project began in December 2009. The first commenced and completed HZMB project was followed by construction of Zhuhai Port on Dec 31, 2013.

Lin Qiang, president of Gree Real Estate and commander in chief of construction, said the run-through set a solid foundation for the port and guaranteed safe transit on the bridge.

Construction site of Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge [Photo by Zhong Fan / Zhuhai Daily]

More than 500 representatives from general headquarters, working groups, the real estate company, and other project participants attended the announcement event to obtain the latest information on the project.

They were urged to go all out to meet contract obligations by Oct 30, conduct joint testing and commissioning by Nov 30, and meet the delivery scheduled for Dec 30. All these goals must be reached in about 80 days with the completion of remaining tasks estimated at roughly 15 percent of the overall effort.

In the meantime, the regulatory engineering section that encompasses a 6.7-km sub-sea tunnel and two artificial islands for the tunnel landings is undergoing its final construction stage -- asphalt paving of its road surface. The area to be paved amounts to 230,000 sq m and includes mainline roads in immersed tubes and island ring roads.

The first to go through the procedure was the E14 immersed tube. Work started on Oct 13 and is due for completion before the end of November. The deadline also applies to the civil engineering on the Islands-Tunnel Section. 

Asphalt paving of road surface at Islands-Tunnel Section [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

According to a project head, the project adopted the technique of "seamless flexible joints" between tubes to accommodate the special structure and to avoid reflection cracks that often occur during paving, a case of using new materials innovatively in a domestic mega project.

After the process, engineers will test the electric equipment to make sure conditions are suitable for operation.