As the development plan to build a bridge linking Macao, Hong Kong and Zhuhai took "clearer" shape, the governments of the three cities would work closer to coordinate the implementation of the plan, Lau Si Lo, secretary for transport and public works of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), said on Tuesday.

Addressing the construction of the bridge, Lau said Macao has a lot to do in terms of advance work for the bridge, such as sea reclamation and traffic layout, but only when the plan is actually given a green light, will the Macao SAR government assess these issues.

To push forward the project, the three governments have already formed an Advance Work Co-ordination Group (AWCG).

The proposed project will comprise a series of bridges and tunnels that would connect Macao with the west side of Hong Kong and neighboring mainland city of Zhuhai, and once completed the bridge will shorten the distances between Macao and the cities on the western side of the Pearl River.

"The construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao (HZM) bridge will facilitate tourists from Guangdong (a southern Chinese province) and Hong Kong to visit Macao..(which) is believed to benefit local tourism," Chan Chi Kit, president of the Macao Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association, said earlier.

The plan also included the building of a large scale car park near the Barrier Gate in Macao to accommodate vehicles that will enter Macao as the bridge completes and put into service.

(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2008)