Zhang Yu JeniZhang13@163.com THE imminent launch of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link (Shenzhong Link) will unleash significant investment opportunities, while boosting overall regional traffic efficiency and fostering the integrated development of city clusters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to Ray Wu, managing director of Savills Shenzhen. The Shenzhong Link, set to open late this month, is an ambitious infrastructure project that incorporates bridges, artificial islands, tunnels, and underwater interchanges. It begins at the Shenzhen airport interchange, traverses the Pearl River estuary, and connects with Ma’an Island in Zhongshan. The 24-kilometer-long mega-project is the sole direct highway linking the two major city clusters in the Pearl River Delta, namely the Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou cluster and the Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Jiangmen cluster. “The most immediate benefit is the dramatic reduction in travel time between Shenzhen and Zhongshan from the previous two hours to just 24 minutes, brining the ‘half-hour living circle’ of the Greater Bay Area to reality,” Wu said. Moreover, the Shenzhong Link’s opening will facilitate the flow of personnel and the more efficient allocation of resources, which will help expand Shenzhen’s high-tech industries to neighboring cities. This expansion of development space for Shenzhen firms will strengthen economic ties and cooperation between Shenzhen and other Greater Bay Area cities, such as Zhongshan and Jiangmen, according to Wu. “High housing prices and population density in Shenzhen may lead to a spillover of residential and commercial demand to surrounding cities like Zhongshan, boosting the real estate market,” Wu added. Wu said that the Shenzhong Link’s opening will undoubtedly present abundant investment opportunities for investors. The value of land and industrial space in Zhongshan and its surrounding areas will continue to rise in the real estate market. “Zhongshan has seen an anticipated surge in housing prices in recent years. With the imminent opening of the Shenzhong Link, housing prices in the city are expected to gain further,” Wu said. He said that the prices of industrial land and industrial parks in Zhongshan have remained comparatively affordable. The opening of the Shenzhong Link presents prospects for the appreciation of these assets’ value, especially for industrial parks with separate land. “Investors can focus on the infrastructure construction and industrial development along the Shenzhong Link, gain insight into the strategies and goals set by local governments, and take advantage of the upcoming investment prospects,” Wu suggested. | 