In the minds of the Chinese, the dragon represents auspiciousness, good weather, good life, and endless life, and the zodiac dragon is the most popular one. This year (2024) is the Year of the Dragon, so let's take stock of what major projects will be born in the Year of the Dragon?
West-to-East Water Diversion The utilization rate of water resources in the Xijiang River is insufficient, and the distribution of water is balanced after the water is opened
The West-to-East Water Transfer Project is a major water conservancy infrastructure in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, benefiting more than 32 million people and greatly enhancing the region's capacity for water security and optimal allocation of water resources.
The West-to-East Water Diversion Project starts from Liyuzhou, Shunde, Foshan, the main stream of the Xijiang River in the west, and reaches the Gongming Reservoir in Shenzhen in the east, realizing the diversion of water from the western part of the Pearl River Delta to the eastern region. The total length of the project is 1132 kilometers, with a total investment of 35.4 billion yuan and a designed annual water supply of 170.8 billion cubic meters. The project was initially fully started in May 2019, and after more than four years of construction, it was completed half a year earlier than originally planned.
Although Guangdong Province is relatively rich in water resources, the uneven distribution of water resources in different regions and basins is serious.
The Dongjiang River is an important water source to support the economic and social development of the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta, but it is less than 18% of the province's water resources, supporting 28% of the province's population and 48% of GDP, and the utilization rate of water resources was once as high as 383%, close to 40% of the internationally recognized warning line.
At the same time, the flow of the Xijiang River is 10 times that of the Dongjiang River, but the utilization rate of water resources is only 13%。
Taking Nansha District of Guangzhou as an example, it is located on the west bank of the Humen Waterway of the Pearl River, where the Xijiang, Beijiang and Dongjiang rivers converge, with a well-developed river system and a vast water area. However, the fact that the water system is developed does not mean that the available water resources are abundant.
At present, the main water source of Nansha is the surface water of the Shawan waterway, with a single water source and dense water intakes, which is susceptible to the upstream impact of the salty tide and has the hidden danger of water shortage. Whenever a salty wave comes, people's livelihoods, industrial production and even agricultural irrigation will be affected.
After the "West-to-East Water Diversion" is completed, it is expected to supply 5 percent of water to Nansha every year3.1 billion cubic meters, plus the newly built high-tech sand reservoir can provide the most urgent water source, providing a strong guarantee for local social and economic development.
In order to achieve "less land acquisition, less demolition, and less disturbance to the people", the "West-to-East Water Diversion" will pass through 4 high-speed railways, 8 subways, 12 expressways, and 16 rivers, lakes and seas, so that the permanent land acquisition is only 2,600 mu, compared with the traditional nullah water conveyance method, saving nearly 20,000 mu of land, and reserving shallow underground space for the future development of subway, communications, electric power, pipe corridors and other municipal construction.
For the construction of the tunnels, a total of 37 ultra-deep vertical working shafts were built along the West-to-East Water Diversion Project, and 48 shield machines were put into excavation. In the process of construction, the engineers overcame many problems such as long-distance deep-buried shield construction, high-pressure prestressed lining design and construction, large-flow wide-head variable-speed water pump research and development, horizontal directional exploration and coring from the shore of Shiziyang, and successfully created the world's highest water transmission pressure shield tunnel, the world's longest prestressed lining water conveyance tunnel, and the world's largest long-distance pressurized water transfer project, a total of 3 world's best.
After the "West-to-East Water Diversion" is completed, it will change the single water supply pattern of Nansha District of Guangzhou, Shenzhen City and Dongguan City, and at the same time provide emergency backup water sources for Hong Kong, Panyu of Guangzhou, Shunde of Foshan and other places.
Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor is the core transportation hub of the Greater Bay Area
This year's super project with the highest attention, "Shenzhong Channel" must be on the list. Following the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, this is another core transportation hub project connecting the east and west banks of the Pearl River Estuary.
The 24-kilometer-long "Shenzhong Passage" integrates bridges, islands, tunnels and underwater interconnection, and adopts two-way eight-lane channels. The Lingdingyang Bridge is a key component of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor is expected to be ready for traffic in June, when the driving time from Shenzhen to Zhongshan will be shortened from 2 hours to less than 30 minutes.
Huangmaohai cross-sea channel: shorten the distance between Zhuhai and Jiangmen
Another key project in the Greater Bay Area, the westward extension of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Huangmaohai Cross-sea Corridor, is expected to be completed and opened to traffic by the end of this year.
The 31-kilometer-long Huangmaohai cross-sea passage starts from Pingsha Town, Gaolan Port Economic Zone, Zhuhai City in the east, crosses the waters of Huangmaohai at Yamenkou in the west, and finally ends in Doosan Town, Taishan City, Jiangmen City.
After the completion of the Huangmaohai cross-sea passage, the time from Zhuhai to Jiangmen and western Guangdong will be shortened by about 30 minutes, helping western Zhuhai to build a one-hour urban living circle.
At the same time, the Huangmaohai cross-sea corridor will form a group of cross-sea and cross-river passages in the Greater Bay Area together with the completed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Humen Bridge, Nansha Bridge, Pearl River Huangpu Bridge, as well as the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Passage and Shiziyang Passage under construction.
Guangzhou-Zhanjiang High-speed Railway: connecting the Greater Bay Area and the Hainan Free Trade Zone
With a total length of more than 400 kilometers, the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang high-speed railway starts from Guangzhou Station, passes through Foshan, Zhaoqing, Yunfu, Yangjiang, Maoming, Zhanjiang and other cities along the way, and ends at Zhanjiang North Station, with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, which is an important part of the regional connection line of the main channel (coastal passage) of the national "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway.
The Guangzhou-Zhanjiang high-speed railway is expected to open to traffic this year, when the central city of Guangzhou to the central city of Zhanjiang will be shortened from the original three hours to less than one and a half hours.
In addition to connecting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Guangzhou-Zhanhai high-speed railway will also seamlessly connect with the Hezhan high-speed railway and the Zhanhai high-speed railway, shortening the time and space distance between the Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration and the Hainan Free Trade Zone (port).
Kai Tak Sports Park: Hong Kong's largest sports infrastructure
The 15th National Games (National Games) in 2025 will be co-organised by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and some of the events of the National Games in Hong Kong will be held at the Kai Tak Sports Park.
The 28-hectare Kai Tak Sports Park, also scheduled to open this year, is the largest sports infrastructure project in Hong Kong's history.
Kai Tak Sports Park has a number of world-class venues, including the main stadium with a retractable roof that can accommodate up to 50,000 people, and can host various international sporting events and cultural and entertainment activities.
The design of the indoor gymnasium also meets the standards of international competitions such as badminton, basketball, gymnastics, tennis, table tennis, etc.
In addition, the park is equipped with a large number of outdoor spaces, retail and food bays, and visitors can experience a variety of leisure and play equipment.