HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) should in principle be open on a 24-hour basis, a Hong Kong official said here on Wednesday.

Chan Fan, the Secretary for Transport and Housing Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), attended the meeting of the Legislative Council of HKSAR and replied the questions of the legislators.

Chan said that the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have already reached a consensus that 24-hour clearance should be implemented from the date of the commissioning of the bridge, for which the "separate locations" mode of clearance arrangement will be adopted.

Chan said that the connection of the viaduct, tunnel and at-grade roads of the Hong Kong Link Road of HZMB have been completed in May 2017, while road surfacing works and road facilities will be completed within this week. The remaining works in progress mainly include the final installation and testing of the Traffic Control and Surveillance System, as well as the final works of some ancillary facilities.

Chan said that the consultants engaged by the three sides estimated that the daily traffic volume of the HZMB would be at around 29,100 and 42,000 vehicles in 2030 and 2037 respectively, while the daily passenger flow would be 126,000 and 175,000 passenger trips respectively.

The estimations, however, may vary with external factors such as the respective developments of the three places and new planning initiatives, he said.

Chan said that HZMB is an unprecedented project connecting Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. With HZMB, travelling time between Hong Kong and western Pearl River Delta (PRD) will be reduced significantly and thereby bringing western PRD within easy reach at just three hours' drive from Hong Kong.