A public hearing on toll plans for the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link will be held in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, on January 30.

The Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission has released two toll plan proposals for the link, a mega cross-sea passage in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) that is scheduled to open this year.

In Plan A, the toll for a whole single-way trip is 66 yuan (US$9.2) for passenger vehicles with no more than seven seats and 100 yuan for those with seats between eight and 19. Passenger vehicles with at least 20 seats will enjoy a 35% discount and only have to pay 86 yuan. The rate for trucks ranges from 66 yuan to 270 yuan, based on their gross weight.

In Plan B, the toll for passenger vehicles with no more than seven seats and eight to 19 seats remains the same as Plan A. But passenger vehicles with 20-39 seats will have to pay 132 yuan for a whole trip, while passenger buses with seats of 40 or above will have to pay 106 yuan after being given a 20% discount. The rate for trucks ranges from 66 yuan to 255 yuan according to their gross weight.

Members of the public can send their suggestions to fgw_jgc@gd.gov.cn.

According to the commission, the fee plans were made based on the annual average cost of the project during the 15-year fee collection period, which amounts to 2.2 billion yuan.

The hearing has invited 26 participants, including 15 consumers, to attend.

The whole line of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link was completed at the end of November. The 24-kilometer-long project, which consists of one underwater tunnel, two bridges and two artificial islands, is one of the most challenging cross-sea cluster projects in the world.

It connects the city cluster of Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou in the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta with the cities of Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in the western part, strengthening the connectivity within the GBA.

Upon operation, it will cut the travel time from Zhongshan to Shenzhen from the current two hours to less than 30 minutes.