New sea tunnel to link Shenzhen with nearby city

A sea tunnel linking south China's Shenzhen and Zhongshan will be completed by 2024, the Guangdong provincial transportation group said Wednesday.

The picture shows shenzhen - zhongshan east tunnel plan.[File photo: Guangzhou Daily]

The construction is expected to get underway by the end of 2017. The main body of the project will include a 6.8-kilometer eight-lane tunnel, according to the project's general engineer, Song Shenyou.

Earlier reports have said that the 46 billion yuan (6.6 billion U.S. dollars) project will include the world's widest underwater road tunnel, two suspension bridges and two artificial islands. 

The building of the artificial islands has already begun. 

The new link between Shenzhen and Zhongshan in the Pearl River Delta will be 24 kilometers long. 

Currently, the Humen Bridge is the only connection between the two sides of the delta.