SHENZHEN – The upcoming opening of Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link will help narrow the development gap between the eastern and western sides of the Pearl River Estuary, promoting greater integration and prosperity in the region, experts and businesses said. 

The 24-kilometer-long cross-sea mega project, which consists of an underwater tunnel, two bridges, and two artificial islands, is set to open to traffic later this month after passing final testing on June 16. The new link will cut travel time between Shenzhen and Zhongshan from the current two hours to about 30 minutes.

Qu Jian, vice-president of Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute, acknowledged the big gap in the development level between the eastern and the western sides of the Pearl River Estuary, with the economic output of two regions that are almost the same size differing by nearly 10 times.

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“This offers a huge space for development,” he said.

The opening of the bridge between Shenzhen and Zhongshan may produce 'spillover effect’ and ‘siphonic effect’ at the beginning, but eventually, the result will be the eastern side leading the western side to achieve common prosperity.

Qu Jian, Vice-President, China Development Institute

Qu said the new project will allow for a smoother flow of production factors, helping to narrow the economic and social disparities between the two sides and promote common prosperity in the region.

“This is an important role that investment in large infrastructure projects plays,” he said.

Qu said he believes that the project will create both a “spillover effect” and a “siphonic effect”, which will lead to a more reasonable division of labor within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which Shenzhen and Zhongshan belong to.

He cited the collaboration between Shenzhen and Dongguan as an example.

"Today, nobody would say Dongguan’s capital, talent, etc, are attracted away by Shenzhen. On the contrary, such elements in Shenzhen have spilled over to Dongguan and fueled its development, making it a city with GDP hitting one trillion yuan ($137.7 billion),” he said.

“The opening of the bridge between Shenzhen and Zhongshan may produce 'spillover effect’ and ‘siphonic effect’ at the beginning, but eventually, the result will be the eastern side leading the western side to achieve common prosperity.”

However, the scholar noted that developing the less prosperous western side requires not just physical infrastructure, but also improvements to the "soft environment" through closer cooperation with Shenzhen. For example, the less-developed area to create a more favorable business environment by working more closely with Shenzhen.

Yuan Yiming, a professor at China Center for Special Economic Zone Research at Shenzhen University, suggested Shenzhen and Zhongshan to jointly develop industrial parks focused on areas like low-altitude equipment manufacturing, digital industries, and cultural and creative sectors.  

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Zhao Haifeng, marketing director of Shenzhen Top-Peak Electronics Co — a drone maker — said the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link will reduce the distance between the company and its potential clients, benefiting its market expansion in the western part of the estuary.

Delivery time of drones in the region will also be greatly shortened, helping the company enhance the efficiency of its supply chain, he added.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com