The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge will cost an additional 11 billion yuan (US$1.662 billion) than the 31 billion yuan initially envisaged, said the Department of Transport and Housing of Hong Kong, in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The South China Morning Post, which cited the statement recalled that a document prepared by the office of the Legislative Council dated December 2008 stated that the cost of construction of the bridge would be split into 50.2% for Hong Kong, 35.1% for China and 14.7% for Macau.

The slippage in the construction costs of this project is due to the increase in the cost of labour and construction materials, according to the announcement from the Department of Transport and Housing in Hong Kong.

In February and October the this department told the members of the Hong Kong parliament that the bridge would cost more than expected due to increased costs, but only now was the estimated value disclosed.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge is 55 kilometres long and will reduce the journey by road from Zhuhai to Hong Kong from four hours to 30 minutes.

The project, whose construction began in 2009, was designed to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, a super typhoon with gusts of wind of between 184 and 202 kilometres per hour or a collision with a cargo vessel with a gross tonnage of 300,000 tons.

The project including a conventional bridge and underwater tunnels was designed to allow sea navigation in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, the Lingding West Channel, at the heart of the Pearl River estuary, which is used by over 4,000 vessels per day. (macauhub)