West bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and western Pearl River Delta (zoom in)

The "west bridge" has been warmly welcomed by the government, economists and academics in Hong Kong, who believe the project will bring massive economic benefits to the region.

Michael Enright, a Harvard professor currently working in Hong Kong, believes the bridge would bring similar economic development to the western side of the Pearl River Delta as has been seen on the eastern side.

Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou, the main cities on the eastern side of the Delta, have experienced double-digit GDP growth for the past five years and are now listed among the wealthiest regions in the Chinese mainland.

"If the western side of the delta grew by even a fraction of [that] seen on the eastern side, by having a direct link to Hong Kong, the economic benefits will be phenomenal," said Professor Enright.

The professor, who has devoted much of his research to economic development in the southern China region, says the success of the eastern Delta can be directly tied to its proximity to Hong Kong.

In 1980 both sides of the Delta had similar economies, explained the professor. By 2001, economic development in the east had dwarfed that of the western region, he said.

"The clear implication was that the eastern side growth was much faster, much deeper, much broader, and you could link that directly to the physical proximity to Hong Kong," he said.

Chief Secretary, Donald Tsang, who travelled to Beijing recently to seek approval for the project, said the 29-kilometre link would bring considerable benefit for the business and tourism sectors.

The bridge would bring the under-developed region within 20 minutes drive of Hong Kong, opening up a massive new market for Hong Kong's manufacturing and logistics' industries. In turn this would open up opportunities for overseas companies to use Hong Kong as a base to service the new market, said the professor.

"Basically economic development has followed trade. Trade has followed foreign investment and foreign investment has been made into places you can access from Hong Kong - in three hours or less by car. Basically where you can get to in your Mercedes from Hong Kong is where the foreign investment goes," said Professor Enright.

The project is estimated to cost HK$15 billion (US$1.9 billion).