The Legislative Council’s transport panel in Hong Kong has approved an additional HKD8.8bn ($1.1bn) for work related to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in China.

According to The Standard, Eva Cheng Yu-wah, Secretary for transport and housing, told the panel that the government needs extra funding for the 12km Hong Kong link road following a delay in the judicial review of the environmental impact assessment.

"The later the construction begins, the higher the construction cost will be. One thing for sure is the economic loss per year of delay will be 2.2 billion Yuan [HK$2.7bn] for Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai," said Eva Cheng Yu-wah.

The delay in the review has increased the construction material cost to HKD3.27bn ($421m) and an extra HKD3.44bn ($443m) for the risk assessment adjustment. The approved fund also includes an increased provision for price adjustment at HKD670m ($86m) and HKD1.48bn ($180m) for emergencies.

The government’s request for extra funds will be sent to the LegCo Finance Committee’s public works subcommittee for discussion on 7 May. With the approval of the additional fund for the link road, the total cost of the dual-carriageway, three-lane road is now estimated to be HKD25bn ($3.2bn).

Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai are jointly building the bridge across the Pearl River Delta at a cost of HKD83bn ($10.6bn).

The Hong Kong section of the bridge also includes construction of a 12km link road to the main bridge at the edge of Hong Kong’s territorial waters, which was originally estimated to cost HKD16.2bn ($2bn).