Construction of two seabed tunnels in Jiaozhou Bay of west
Qingdao, a port city in east China's Shandong Province, will start
in June this year.
An official from the Qingdao City development and reform
committee said that the construction report had been given the
go-ahead by the State Development and Report Commission.
The dual tunnels will connect with Xuejia Isle in the Huangdao
Island District and Qingdao's Tuandao Isle across the mouth of
Jiaozhou Bay.
The tunnels will each measure approximately 6,170 meters and
will have six lanes capable of accommodating motor vehicles at a
speed of 80 km per hour.
The project is expected to cost 3.18 billion yuan (about US$392
million). It will be completed in three and a half years. The
investment is expected to be recovered in about 11 years.
In a related development, a bridge, with a budget of about 10
billion yuan (US$1.24 billion), is also being built to span the
bay. Construction began in June last year.
On completion, both projects will play a crucial role in
promoting regional development on the Jiaozhou Bay Rim, said the
local official.
(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2006)