Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project
The Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project is a proposed undersea tunnel to connect Pingtan in Mainland China to Hsinchu in Taiwan as part of the G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway. First proposed in 1996, the project has since been subject to a number of academic discussions and feasibility studies, including by the China Railway Engineering Corporation. The route between Pingtan and Hsinchu was chosen because of its short distance and its relative geological stability. One expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering suggested in 2005 that the Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project was one of five major undersea tunnel projects under consideration for the next twenty to thirty years.
The project is not considered viable due to a lack of interest from the Taiwanese, staggering costs and unsolved technical problems. At nearly km undersea, the proposed tunnel would be much longer than existing Seikan Tunnel, the Channel tunnel and the China-lead Bohai Strait tunnel project. In addition, Taiwan is concerned about the tunnel's potential use by China in aggressive military actions. Nonetheless, in July 2013, the Chinese State Council approved plans for the project.
