Zhang Zhaomin, Director of FTA of Pingtan county in Fujian province and deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), told media in Beijing that the undersea tunnel project of Beijing-Taipei Expressway is technologically ready to proceed. The realization of the project depends on the decision of Taiwan. [Special coverage]
According to Zhang, who was just transferred from the Fujian Provincial Transportation Department to Pingtan at the end of last year, the Beijing–Taipei Expressway is planned as an extension line of the Beijing–Fuzhou Expressway. By now, most parts of the Beijing–Fuzhou Expressway are already open to traffic.
Zhang said that the segment of the expressway connecting to Taiwan is planned as an undersea tunnel. Experts tend to build a 126-kilometer-long tunnel from Pingtan to Taipei. Technical feasibility studies have been carried out on both sides over the past four years. Now experts have a good grasp of the seabed and its geological conditions.
Zhang said that Pingtan is the closest place to Taiwan on the mainland. Last year, high-speed ro-ro ships transported around 120,000 passengers across the strait. About 200,000 packages entered or exited Taiwan through Pingtan.
Last year, Pingtan launched the Taiwan–Pingtan–Europe sea-rail combined transport project. This year, the county will continue to promote cross-strait direct flights and the combined transport project.
