Shanghai,China -Xinhua/The Daily Mail (London,UK) -2nd May 2008: — … The £550million span opened to traffic on a trial basis at midnight, shortening travel time between Shanghai and Ningbo, two key port cities in China’s prosperous Yangtze River Delta, to two-and-a-half hours from four… Trucks, overloaded vehicles and vehicles carrying dangerous chemicals will be barred from the bridge during the trial period… The bridge is China’s first major public infrastructure project to receive investment from the country’s private sector, which funded almost 30 percent of the cost, the report said… China, the world’s fourth-largest economy, is spending heavily on infrastructure to maintain its double-digit rates of economic growth. It began construction of the bridge in November 2003… (PHOTO: Over the horizon: The record-breaking bridge connects the port of Nangbo with Shanghai)
China opened the world’s longest cross-sea bridge yesterday, linking the financial hub of Shanghai with the booming port city of Ningbo, the official Xinhua news agency said.
A ceremony in the middle of the 22.4 mile cable-stayed structure, which spans Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang Province south of Shanghai, marked the official opening before several hundred spectators.
The £550million span opened to traffic on a trial basis at midnight, shortening travel time between Shanghai and Ningbo, two key port cities in China’s prosperous Yangtze River Delta, to two-and-a-half hours from four.
Over the horizon: The record-breaking bridge connects the port of Nangbo with Shanghai
Celebration: Fireworks are set off as Chinese officials celebrate the opening of the bridge
Trucks, overloaded vehicles and vehicles carrying dangerous chemicals will be barred from the bridge during the trial period, Xinhua said.
“We haven’t decided how long the trial operation period will last. That depends … on the bridge condition, and we need time to improve management about its operation,” said Jin Jianming, deputy chief commander of the bridge construction project, as saying.
The bridge is China’s first major public infrastructure project to receive investment from the country’s private sector, which funded almost 30 percent of the cost, the report said.
China, the world’s fourth-largest economy, is spending heavily on infrastructure to maintain its double-digit rates of economic growth. It began construction of the bridge in November 2003.
Handy: The 22.4 mile cable-stayed structure spans Hangzhou Bay
