Several transportation projects will begin in the years ahead to foster closer economic and trade ties in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, top officials from the regional cooperation bloc said yesterday.

One highlight is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, running across the South China Sea from Hong Kong and Macao to Guangdong province.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

Construction of the 29.6-km bridge, which will be the world's longest sea link, will begin later this year, Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong special administrative region, said during the annual Pan-PRD Regional Cooperation Forum in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The Pan-PRD cooperation bloc includes nine provinces and autonomous regions of Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian, Hainan, Jiangxi and Guangxi Zhuang, as well as two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

In Sichuan province, construction of a number of high-speed expressways and rails connecting the provincial capital of Chengdu and other cities outside the province would soon begin, said Jiang Jufeng, governor of Sichuan provincial government.

By 2012, the province will construct seven railways, 12 expressways and two water transport channels, helping form a better gateway for the province to connect with other members of the regional cooperation bloc, Jiang said.

In water transportation, Guangxi will work with neighboring Guangdong province to develop a watercourse along the Xijiang river, a tributary of the Pearl River running through Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hong Kong and Macao.

In the coming three years, Guangxi will invest up to 30 billion yuan to develop the Xijiang water channel, Yang Daoxi, vice chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government, told China Daily.

A number of large railway stations in Fuzhou, Nanchang, Guangzhou, Changsha, Guiyang, Chengdu and Nanning will also be built by 2012, said Wang Zhiguo, vice railway minister.

By 2012, about 11,000 km of new railways will be finished in the Pan-PRD region, raising the total mileage to 30,000 km in the region, Wang said.