AUTHORITIES have agreed to adopt a plan to build a tunnel under the Pearl River for the Shenzhen-Jiangmen section of the Shenzhen-Maoming High-speed Railway.

At a meeting with Shenzhen lawmakers, who were visiting Jiangmen to inspect the rail project, it was announced that the construction of the tunnel will start before the end of this year and that the rail project between Shenzhen and Jiangmen will commence in 2018.

Construction of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen section has been delayed due to the complicated geographic conditions of the mouth of the Pearl River and a lack of consensus over whether to build a bridge or a tunnel between the two sides of the Pearl River.

According to a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily quoting a notice from China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co. Ltd., the authorities have approved the construction of a 14.05-kilometer tunnel under the Pearl River.

The Shenzhen-Jiangmen section will have six stations including Xili Station and Airport North Station.

Xili Station will have 11 platforms and 22 lines. It will be the terminus of both the Shenzhen-Maoming High-speed Railway and the Ganzhou-Shenzhen High-speed Railway. The Shenzhen-Huizhou intercity rail, as well as Metro lines 13, 15 and 29, will connect with the station.

The 115.6-km Shenzhen-Jiangmen section will cost 65.2 billion yuan (US$9.88 billion) and is expected to be completed in mid-2023.

The 380-km Shenzhen-Maoming High-speed Railway will be a major rail link in the Pearl River Delta area connecting Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Yangjiang and Maoming.

(Han Ximin)