Siemens, a global technology provider, will supply traffic control and monitoring systems for the twin-bore tunnel that will connect Hong Kong to the new Liantang / Heung Yuen Wai border crossing with mainland China.

It will be a 5km freeway tunnel, making it the longest road tunnel upon completion. The tunnel is expected to be operational by 2022.

The four-lane freeway tunnel has been designed to provide a direct connection for cross-border freight and passenger vehicle traffic between the Northeast New Territories and the eastern part of Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland.

"The firm will provide a complete set of traffic solutions, which includes hardware and software plus numerous subsystems to facilitate a safe and efficient flow of traffic in the tunnel."

The firm will provide a complete set of traffic solutions, which includes hardware and software plus numerous subsystems to facilitate a safe and efficient flow of traffic in the tunnel.

The core will be the International Tunnel Control Center (ITCC), which will use Simatic WinCC open architecture for the operations control system.

The ITCC will utilise real-time data to evaluate the traffic conditions within the tunnel and decide on actions to optimise traffic flow by taking account of all pertinent safety aspects.

Southern Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to create six separate links with the Hong Kong special administrative region to improve transport integration between the two.

The six link projects planned will connect Shenzhen and Hong Kong by road, rail and sea.