Fear of Security for the Longest Bridge in the Sea

Construction of the 55 - mile - long [55 km] bridge, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and China, includes the construction of artificial islands, new roads, and a tunnel under the sea. Photos taken earlier this month showed that concrete blocks used to build one of the islands, which absorb waves, were cut off from the protective barrier, and were partially immersed under water. The photos have raised concerns about the island's structural integrity built by a Chinese contractor connecting the bridge to a tunnel under the sea.

The Hong Kong Highway Department has sent its representatives to meet with the designers and has said it will monitor the works on the bridge to ensure all requirements are met. But, reacting after the photo release, officials in the authority of the Hong Kong-Shuhai-Macau Bridge said the establishment of concrete blocks was designed. According to them, the blocks were deliberately set in order to ease pressure in the underwater tunnel.

The nine-year construction project has been accompanied by delays, legal indictments and lack of budgets. The bridge, due to open in 2016, is expected to be operational within this year, Hong Kong officials say. Project supporters say the bridge connecting three cities, Hong Kong Makau and Shuhai, will cause the area to become an important economic centre.

But critics think the bridge is simply a way for China to strengthen its authority over Hong Kong, a special, semi-autonom administrative region, which does not like Beijing's authority very much. Officials had published pictures of the island before during the deadly Hato typhoon last August to show that the protection properties of the blocks had worked.