On 3 February it was announced that Chna’s southernmost province of Hainan is studying a feasibility report on plans for a 31km long tunnel or bridge across the Qiongzhou Straits to link Hainan Island with the mainland.
Wei Liucheng, governor of the province, said a special expert committee had been instigated by the Chinese Ministry of Communications to consider the options available for the link. The committee has appropriated US$2.4M for preliminary research into the scheme. It is expected that the research and preparatory work will take between five and ten years.
The Qiongzhou Straits between the Leizhou Peninsula of Gunagdong Province and Hainan Island are 22.5km wide, but a provincial official said any fixed link would be 31km long. Cost estimates of US$84.3M per kilometre of underwater tunnel has been suggested for the scheme. A price of US$2.4bn is the current allowance for the whole tunnel.
