Just another link in the chain
A tunnel from Zhongshan to Shenzhen: fancy that. No more need for a cross-delta bridge. No more need to anticipate jurisdictional conflicts between Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong.
All that is needed is for the provincial government to say, 'let it be done', and a cheaper, faster alternative to the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge will appear beneath the muddy waters of the Pearl River Delta. At least, that is according to sources with 'an understanding of the situation', quoted in this newspaper last week.
Putting aside for a moment the strong possibility that the story is nonsense, planted by a rival to parties pushing for construction of the cross-delta bridge, let's consider the bigger picture of delta integration and wonder what a tunnel between the western and eastern sides of the region would do for it.
The most obvious beneficiaries would be Zhongshan and Shenzhen. It would turn Zhongshan into a gateway for companies attracted by the western side's cheap and abundant land. It would give Shenzhen another boost in its quest to eclipse Hong Kong's port.
A tunnel would obviously get built quicker and would be cheaper than the mammoth project championed by Hopewell's Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung. And it would cut driving times between destinations on either side of the delta, thereby accelerating the western side's development as more companies relocate.
But the two biggest assumptions being made about the tunnel need scrutiny. The first is that it would negate the need for the cross-delta bridge. This is incredibly wishful thinking, as the two projects are incomparable.
Moreover, the bridge could fundamentally alter the region's cargo-shipping dynamics by breaking the pricey stranglehold that a few companies have on it through the dominant ownership of container handling facilities in Kwai Chung and Yantian .
The second fallacy about the tunnel is that it would be easier to manage, as it would fall within Guangdong's jurisdiction, and would therefore bring greater advantages to the region as traffic flows were improved. Anyone who has dealt with local customs officials would roll their eyes at the idea of the provincial government being omnipotent.
Customs authorities on the mainland are lucrative revenue generators, which is why they are also bastions of local power that protect their territories as fiercely from one another as they do from Hong Kong.
Besides, the difficulties involved in cross-border trucking and private commuters have more to do with mainland-wide legislation about licences and driving permits than they do with the existence of border checkpoints. And moreover, Guangdong and Hong Kong liaison officials are getting on better than ever. There is no reason to assume they would not be able to work out the operational details of a tri-territory infrastructure project.
None of this is to say the tunnel is a bad idea. The more links there are between delta cities, the better. I would personally love a 90-minute drive from Shenzhen to Zhongshan to be halved. And as this region continues to grow, so these links will be needed all the more quickly.
It just seems petty to entertain the notion that the tunnel should be considered at the expense of the bridge.
Anthony Lawrance is a Hong Kong-based publisher
