Chinese President officially opened the world's longest sea crossing bridge,Including its access roads, the bridge spans 55km (34 miles) and connects Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai.

The $20 billion (Dh73.5 billion) bridge took almost a decade to build while incurring major delays and cost overruns. It includes an undersea tunnel allowing ships to pass through the Pearl River delta, the heart of China's crucial manufacturing sector.
Construction has been dogged by safety issues - at least 18 workers have died on the project, officials say.

Mr Xi attended the opening ceremony of the bridge, which took place in Zhuhai, along with the leaders of Hong Kong and Macau.
The bridge is designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, it was built using 400,000 tonnes of steel, enough to build 60 Eiffel Towers.

About 30km of its total length crosses the sea of the Pearl River delta. To allow ships through, a 6.7km section in the middle dips into an undersea tunnel that runs between two artificial islands.

It is part of China's plan to create a Greater Bay Area, including Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities in southern China. The bridge is not served by public transport, so private shuttle buses will ply the route. There is no rail link.

Authorities initially estimated that 9,200 vehicles would cross the bridge every day. They later lowered their estimations after new transport networks were built in the region.

The bridge, surrounding link roads and artificial islands cost a staggering $20bn to build - the main bridge alone cost $6.92bn.

Chinese officials say it will generate up to 10 trillion yuan ($1.44tn; £1tn) for the economy, but one Hong Kong lawmaker cast doubt on that figure. The bridge will only earn around $86m in tolls per year.

In fact, the bridge's maintenance costs would already take away a third of this income.The project has been dogged by delays, budget overruns, corruption prosecutions and the deaths of construction workers.

While supporters promote it as an engineering marvel, others see the multi-billion dollar project as a costly white elephant designed to further integrate Hong Kong into the mainland at a time when Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.

Click and view:http://jumiaforum.com/listing/worlds-longest-sea-crossing-bridge-officially-opened-today/