China to build its first seabed tunnel this May

　　Chinanews, Feb. 16 - The Xiamen Municipal Development Planning Commission revealed that the National Development and Reform Commission had recently approved the feasibility study of the Xiamen East Tunnel Project. This means that China's first seabed tunnel, also Xiamen's third tunnel, has entered the implementation stage. The tunnel will begin full-scale construction this May.

　　Up to the present, all items in the initial stage, such as the proposal, planning and site selection, preliminary land inspection, environmental assessment and feasibility study, have been approved. Relevant departments of Xiamen City have started the early-stage work in earnest, such as preliminary design.

　　The East Tunnel is the first seabed tunnel in China. Moreover, it is the first seabed tunnel which is independently designed by Chinese experts. The tunnel has a total length of nine kilometers, with a six-kilometer-long section under the sea, at an under-water depth of as much as 70 meters.

　　According to the plan, the East Tunnel will be designed with six two-way lanes. The driving speed is designed to be 80 kilometers per hour. Both sides of the tunnel will be connected with overpasses and first-level expressways.