China announced it had begun construction of the world's longest sea bridge—barely 18 months after opening the current record-holder. The Y-shaped link between Hong Kong, Macau and China will be around 50 km (31 miles) long in total, 35 km of which will span the sea, said the state news agency Xinhua. Due to be completed by 2015, the 73bn yuan (£6.75bn) cost of the bridge will be shared by the authorities in the three territories. Wang Yong, the head of that project, said the design had led to more than 250 technological innovations and engineering breakthroughs, many of which will no doubt prove useful in building the new construction. He added that the Hangzhou bridge survived 19 severe challenges, including typhoons, tides, and geological problems during the three and a half years of construction.
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