SHANTOU: Work on a cross-sea bridge linking Nan'ao, an island county in Guangdong, to the mainland is seen starting this year.

The project is expected to speed the island's development and help reverse infrastructure problems such as a lack of fresh water.

"Guangdong's provincial development and reform commission will allow the construction of the non-profit bridge to go forward. A group of experts from the provincial communication department has accepted the initial design scheme," said Chen Jianwu, an official with the county government of Nan'ao, an island county under Shantou, a city in the eastern part of Guangdong Province.

"Very likely, work will begin on the bridge by the end of the year."

The official said the bridge would be 9.17 km long and 12 m wide. Altogether, the project will stretch 11.1 km. The bridge will connect the island county with the city's Chenghai district.

"After weighing the comparative merits of the proposed designs, experts settled on the one submitted by the China Highway Engineering Consulting Group Co Ltd late last week," he added.

Shantou Vice-Mayor Su Yaoguang described the bridge as the "lifeline of the island county's development".

"The government of Shantou considered the bridge a strategically key project for the city's future development as well as a crucial project for the future development of Nan'ao County," Su said.

Li Qingqing, an associate economics professor at South China Normal University, said the bridge would not only ease traffic flows between the island and Shantou, but also clear away any obstacles standing in the way of the county's economic development, for example, the chronic water shortages.

(China Daily 07/10/2007 page4)