Bridge greatly improves transportation time for aquatic products

Trucks line up to pass the Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on Sunday. [Photos by Qiu Quanlin and Zheng Erqi/chinadaily.com.cn]

Before the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Heime Aquaculture Import and Export Co, based in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, had to export its aquatic products to Hong Kong through the Wenjindu port of Shenzhen.

"It took several hours for long distance transporting from Zhuhai to Hong Kong, affecting the quality of fresh aquatic products and causing losses to our business," said Weng Xipeng, general manager of the company.

The situation changed significantly – the company became the first of its kind to export aquatic products from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong through the port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, after the mega sea-crossing project opened its service in October 2018.

"It takes about one hour to transport our fresh aquatic products to Hong Kong through the bridge, helping improve our business efficiency," Weng said.

According to Weng, the company's export of aquatic products accounts for about 25 percent of the Hong Kong market, with the total volume reaching over 1.5 billion yuan ($210.5 million).

By the end of May, the import and export volume via the Zhuhai port of the mega bridge, with a length of 55 kilometers, totaled 639 billion yuan, according to the local customs.

In 2022 alone, the import and export volume via the port increased 96.1 percent year-on-year to 269.73 billion yuan, the customs said.

"The bridge has greatly improved the efficiency of economic and trade activities between Guangdong and the two special administrative regions, helping drive high-quality development of trade," said Guo Yanhai, deputy director of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs.