Hainan bridge scheme proposed

GUANGZHOU: Construction of a cross-sea bridge - the world's second longest - linking the island of Hainan with the mainland is likely to begin in 2012, local media said yesterday.

The 30-km cross-sea expressway, the longest in the world after China's 36-km Hangzhou Bay Bridge, is expected to reduce the traveling time between Guangdong and Hainan to 20 minutes once it is opened to traffic in 2020.

After 14 years of research and negotiations, the ministries of communications and railway and the provincial governments of Guangdong and Hainan signed an agreement in Beijing to jointly submit a project proposal to the State Development and Reform Commission, the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily reported.